Page images
PDF
EPUB

LORD ROLAND.

LORD ROLAND rose, and went to mass,
And doffed his mourning weed;
And bade them bring a looking-glass,
And saddle fast a steed;

I'll deck with gems my bonnet's loop,
And wear a feather fine,

And when lorn lovers sit and droop,

Why, I will sit and dine;

Sing merrily, sing merrily!

And fill the cup of wine.

Though Elgitha be thus untrue,

Adèle is beauteous yet;

And he that's baffled by the blue
May bow before the jet;

So welcome, welcome, hall or heath!

So welcome, shower or shine!

And wither there, thou willow wreath,

Thou never shalt be mine ;

Sing merrily, sing merrily!

And fill the cup of wine.

Proud Elgitha! a health to thee,
A health in brimming gold,

VOL. II.-23

And store of lovers after me,
As honest, and less cold;
My hand is on my bugle-horn,
My boat is on the brine;
If ever gallant died of scorn
I shall not die of thine;-
Sing merrily, sing merrily!
And fill the cup of wine.

(1824.)

YES OR NO.

I.

THE Baron de Vaux hath a valiant crest,

My Lady is fair and free;

The Baron is full of mirth and jest,

My Lady is full of glee;

But their path, we know, is a path of woe, And many the reason guess,

The Baron will ever mutter "No,"

When my Lady whispers "Yes.'

II.

The Baron will pass the wine-cup round,My Lady forth will roam;

The Baron will out with horse and hound,My Lady sits at home;

The Baron will go to draw the bow,
My Lady will go to chess;

And the Baron will ever mutter "No,"
When my Lady whispers "Yes."

III.

The Baron hath ears for a lovely lay,
If my Lady sings it not;

The Baron is blind to a beauteous day,
If it beam in my Lady's grot;
The Baron bows low to a furbelow,
If it be not my Lady's dress;

And the Baron will ever mutter "No,"
When my Lady whispers "Yes."

IV.

Now saddle my steed, and helm my head, Be ready in the porch;

Stout Guy, with a ladder of silken thread,
And trusty Will, with a torch:

The wind may blow, the torrent flow,
No matter,-on we press;

I never can near the Baron's "No,"
When my Lady whispers "Yes."

(1827.)

TELL HIM I LOVE HIM YET.

I.

TELL him I love him yet,

As in that joyous time; Tell him I ne'er forget,

Though memory now be crime; Tell him, when sad moonlight Is over earth and sea, I dream of him by night,

He must not dream of me!

II.

Tell him to go where Fame
Looks proudly on the brave;
Tell him to win a name

By deeds on land and wave;
Green, green upon his brow
The laurel wreath shall be;
Although the laurel now

May not be shared with me.

III.

Tell him to smile again

In Pleasure's dazzling throng,

To wear another's chain,

To praise another's song;

Before the loveliest there

I'd have him bend his knee,
And breathe to her the prayer
He used to breathe to me.

IV.

And tell him, day by day,
Life looks to me more dim;
I falter when I pray,

Although I pray for him;
And bid him, when I die,
Come to our favourite tree;
I shall not hear him sigh,-
Then let him sigh for me!

(JULY 20, 1829.)

WHERE IS MISS MYRTLE ?

AIR-"Sweet Kitty Clover."

I.

WHERE is Miss Myrtle? can any one tell?
Where is she gone, where is she gone?
She flirts with another, I know very well,
And I am left alone!

She flies to the window when Arundel rings,

« PreviousContinue »