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The Maid of Elvar. By Allan Cunningham.
This is one of the most gratifying "appearances" in the literature of
the day. It reminds us that however the poet's harp may have remained
unstrung, it has not lost its vigour or sweetness--its depth of
feeling, or its melody of tone, and these too are ably sustained
through nearly 600 stanzas in an exquisitely embellished narrative.
The poem is "a song of other times;" the story is one of chivalrous
love; the hero is a young warrior and poet; the Maid of Elvar offers
a garland of gold for the best song in honour of one of his victories;
"minstrels meet and sing, but the song of Eustace, though on another
theme, is reckoned the best; the Maid hangs the gold chain round his
neck, and retires, admiring the young stranger;" and thereby hangs the
tale. As our limits will not allow us to detach a scene or incident,
we must be content, for the present, with culling a few of the
choicest flowers of the song.