others. Some of them remained very lately at Burton House, the seat of John Biddulph, Esq. Others were in possession of the Rev. Dr. Langrish, minister of Petworth at that period, who was present when some of these bones were taken up, and gave it as his opinion, that they had remained there since the universal deluge [the Flood]. The Romans under the Emperor Claudius probably brought elephants into Britain. Milton, in the Second Book of his History [of Britain], in speaking of the expedition, says that 'He like a great eastern king, with armed elephants, marched through Gallia.' This is given on the authority of Dion Cassius, in his Life of the Emperor Claudius. It has therefore been conjectured, that the bones found at Burton might have been those of one of these elephants, who perished there soon after its
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58 / CHARLOTTE SMITH
Auxiliary reluctant, hither led, From Afric's forest glooms and tawny sands,
415 First felt the Northern blast, and his vast frame Sunk useless; whence in after ages found, The wondering hinds, on those enormous bones Gaz'd; and in giants4 dwelling on the hills Believed and marvell'd.?
Hither, Ambition come!
420 Come and behold the nothingness of all For which you carry thro' the oppressed Earth, War, and its train of horrors?see where tread The innumerous0 hoofs of flocks above the works countless By which the warrior sought to register
425 His glory, and immortalize his name.? The pirate Dane,5 who from his circular camp Bore in destructive robbery, fire and sword Down thro' the vale, sleeps unrememberd here; And here, beneath the green sward, rests alike
430 The savage native,6 who his acorn meal Shar'd with the herds, that ranged the pathless woods; And the centurion, who on these wide hills Encamping, planted the Imperial Eagle.0 the Roman standard All, with the lapse of Time, have passed away,
435 Even as the clouds, with dark and dragon shapes, Or like vast promontories crown'd with towers, Cast their broad shadows on the downs: then sail Far to the northward, and their transient gloom Is soon forgotten.
But from thoughts like these,
440 By human crimes suggested, let us turn To where a more attractive study courts The wanderer of the hills; while shepherd girls Will from among the fescue7 bring him flowers, Of wonderous mockery; some resembling bees
445 In velvet vest, intent on their sweet toil,8 While others mimic flies,9 that lightly sport
landing; or dying on the high downs, one of which, called Duncton Hill, rises immediately above Burton Park, the bones might have been washed down by the torrents of rain, and buried deep in the soil. They were not found together, but scattered at some distance from each other. The two tusks were twenty feet apart. I had often heard of the elephant's bones at Burton, but never saw them; and I have no books to refer to. I think I saw, in what is now called the National Museum at Paris, the very large bones of an elephant, which were found in North America: though it is certain that this enormous animal is never seen in its natural state, but in the countries under the torrid zone of the old world. I have, since making this note, been told that the bones of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus have been found in America [Smith's note].
4. The peasants believe that the large bones sometimes found belonged to giants, who formerly lived on the hills. The devil also has a great deal to do with the remarkable forms of hill and vale: the Devil's Punch Bowl, the Devil's Leaps, and the Devil's Dyke, are names given to deep hollows, or high and abrupt ridges, in this and the neighbouring county [Smith's note].
5. The incursions of the Danes were for many ages the scourge of this island [Smith's note]. 6. The Aborigines of this country lived in woods, unsheltered but by trees and caves; and were probably as truly savage as any of those who are now termed so [Smith's note]. 7. The grass called Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina), clothes these Downs with the softest turf [Smith's note]. 8. Ophrys apifera, Bee Ophrys, or Orchis found plentifully on the hills, as well as the next [Smith's note]. 9. Ophrys muscifera. Fly Orchis. Linnaeus, misled by the variations to which some of this tribe are really subject, has perhaps too rashly esteemed all those which resemble insects, as forming only one
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BEACHY HEAD / 59
In the green shade, or float along the pool, But here seen perch'd upon the slender stalk, And gathering honey dew. While in the breeze
450 That wafts the thistle's plumed seed along, Blue bells wave tremulous. The mountain thyme1 Purples the hassock0 of the heaving mole, tuft of grass And the short turf is gay with tormentil,2 And bird's foot trefoil, and the lesser tribes
455 Of hawkweed;3 spangling it with fringed stars.? Near where a richer tract of cultur d land Slopes to the south; and burnished by the sun, Bend in the gale of August, floods of corn; The guardian of the flock, with watchful care,4
460 Repels by voice and dog the encroaching sheep? While his boy visits every wired trap5 That scars the turf; and from the pit-falls takes The timid migrants,6 who from distant wilds, Warrens, and stone quarries, are destined thus
465 To lose their short existence. But unsought By Luxury yet, the Shepherd still protects The social bird,7 who from his native haunts Of willowy current, or the rushy pool, Follows the fleecy crowd, and flirts and skims, In fellowship among them.
470 Where the knoll More elevated takes the changeful winds, The windmill rears its vanes; and thitherward With his white load,0 the master travelling, load of grain Scares the rooks rising slow on whispering wings,
475 While o'er his head, before the summer sun Lights up the blue expanse, heard more than seen, The lark sings matins; and above the clouds Floating, embathes his spotted breast in dew.
species, which he terms Ophrys insecti fera. See English Botany [Smith's note].
1. Blue bells. Campanula rotundifolia. Mountain thyme. Thymus serpyllum. 'It is a common notion, that the flesh of sheep which feeds upon aromatic plants, particularly wild thyme, is superior in flavour to other mutton. The
