Maritæ Suæ 1959 They passed the drawbridge with clattering din, The king blew a blast on his bugle horn; No answer came; but faint and forlorn None welcomed the king from that weary ride; The panting steed, with a drooping crest, Stood weary. The king returned from her chamber of rest, And, that dumb companion eyeing, The tears gushed forth which he strove to check; Dear steed, our ride hath been in vain To the halls where my love lay dying!" Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (1808-1870] MARITE SUÆ I Of all the flowers rising now, In all the blooms that blow so fast, Two snowdrops for our boy and girl, Wreathed with one often-played-with curl And so I graced thee for thy grave, My first gift and my last. II I dreamed her babe upon her breast, That backs the landscape fresh and still. I hoped her thoughts would thrid the boughs And gaze those apple-blossoms through But now her faculty of sight Is elder sister to the light, And travels free and unconfined Through dense and rare, through form and mind. Or else her life to be complete Hath found new channels full and meet Then, O, what eyes are leaning o'er, If fairer than they were before! William Philpot [1823-1889] BALLAD HE said: "The shadows darken down, The night is near at hand. Now who's the friend will follow me Into the sunless land? Ballad "For I have vassals leal and true, And I have comrades kind, He sought the brother young and blithe "In the long chase you've followed me, "Few vows you make; but true's your heart, He said: "God speed you, brother mine, He sought the friar, the gray old priest The friar he turned him to the east He said: "A godless name you bear, "Oh, hasten, get your guilty soul He sought the lady bright and proud, She said: "And pass you in your prime? Heaven give me days of cheer! And keep me from the sunless clime Many and many a year." 1061 All heavily the sun sank down There came a woman fair and wan Through gazing vassals, idle serfs, The winding staircase echoed not His lady eyed her scornfully. "There is no expiation, none. A bitter load I bore: Now I shall love you nevermore, 66 Never and nevermore. There is no touch or tone of yours Can make the old love wake." She said: "But I will follow you, Even for the old love's sake." Oh, he has kissed her on the brow, Into the starless land. May Kendall (1861 "O THAT "TWERE POSSIBLE" From "Maud" O THAT 'twere possible After long grief and pain "Home They Brought Her Warrior" 1063 When I was wont to meet her Of the land that gave me birth, We stood tranced in long embraces A shadow flits before me, Not thou, but like to thee. Ah, Christ, that it were possible For one short hour to see The souls we loved, that they might tell us What and where they be! Alfred Tennyson [1809-1892] "HOME THEY BROUGHT HER WARRIOR DEAD" From "The Princess" HOME they brought her warrior dead; All her maidens, watching, said, Then they praised him, soft and low, Truest friend and noblest foe; Yet she neither spoke nor moved. Stole a maiden from her place, Rose a nurse of ninety years, Set his child upon her knee,- Alfred Tennyson [1809-1892] |