Or the forms that come on the twilight's wing, Beautiful shade, with her tranquil air, And her thin white arm, and her flowing hair, Entranced the soul in its desolate grace. And hence the story had ever run That the fairest of dames was a Headless One. The pilgrim in his foreign weeds Would falter in his prayer; And the monk would pause with his half-told beads To breathe a blessing there; The knight would loose his vizor-clasp, And drop the rein from his nerveless grasp, And pass his hand across his brow With a sudden sigh, and a whispered vow, And marvel Flattery's tale was told, From a lip so young, to an ear so cold. She had seen her sixteenth winter out, When she met with the beast I was singing about: Earnestly looking, and looking long, With his appetite weak, and his wonder strong. And the song of the Lady was sweet the while : "Nonny nonny!—I hear it float, "Nonny nonny!-'Lillian sings But surely Sir Launcelot never heard The Dragon he lay in mute amaze, Till something of kindness crept into his gaze; He drew the flames of his nostrils in, He veiled his claws with their speckled skin, And the song of the Lady was sweet the while :— 'Nonny nonny !—who shall tell Where the summer breezes dwell? Lightly and brightly they breathe and blow, "Nonny nonny!—I hear your tone, A moment! and the Dragon came She had won his heart, while she charmed his ear, And fairy-like she sits and sings, Guiding the steed with a touch and a tone. Aloft, aloft in the clear blue ether, The dame and the Dragon they soared together; He bore her away on the breath of the gale— The two little dwarfs held fast by the tail. Fanny! a pretty group for drawing; My dragon like a war-horse pawing, My dwarfs in a fright, and my girl in an attitude, Patting the beast in her soulless gratitude. There; you may try it if you will, While I drink my coffee, and nib my quill. END OF CANTO I. CANTO II. THE sun shone out on hill and grove; It was a glorious day: The lords and the ladies were making love, But the Town of Brentford marked with wonder A lightning in the sky, and thunder, Some prodigy was coming down, "How the Slayer doth not slay, Are ye Lobers? are ye brabe? He that would wed the lobeliest maid, |