Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

THOMAS THE RHYMER

TRUE Thomas lay on Huntlie bank;
A ferlie he spied wi' his e'e;

And there he saw a ladye bright
Come riding down by the Eildon Tree. 4

Her skirt was o' the grass-green silk,
Her mantle o' the velvet fine;
At ilka tett o' her horse's mane,
Hung fifty siller bells and nine.

8

True Thomas, he pu'd aff his cap, And louted low down on his knee: "Hail to thee, Mary, Queen of Heaven! For thy peer on earth could never be." 12

"O no, O no, Thomas," she said,

"That

name does not belang to me;

I'm but the Queen o' fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee.

"Harp and carp, Thomas," she said;
"Harp and carp along wi' me;

And if

ye

dare to kiss my lips,

Sure of your bodie I will be."

16

20

"Betide me weal, betide me woe,

That weird shall never daunten me." Syne he has kiss'd her rosy lips,

All underneath the Eildon Tree.

"Now ye maun go wi' me," she said,

66

'True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me;

And ye maun serve me seven years,

24

Thro' weal or woe as may chance to be." 28

She's mounted on her milk-white steed,
She's ta'en true Thomas up behind;
And aye, whene'er her bridle rang,

The steed gaed swifter than the wind. 3×

O they rade on, and farther on,

The steed gaed swifter than the wind;

Until they reach'd a desert wide,

And living land was left behind.

36

"Light down, light down, now, true Thomas,

And lean your head upon my knee;

Abide ye there a little space,

And I will show you ferlies three.

40

“O see ye not yon narrow road,

So thick beset wi' thorns and briers? That is the path of righteousness,

Though after it but few inquires.

"And see ye not yon braid, braid road, That lies across the lily leven?

i

44

That is the path of wickedness,
Though some call it the road to

Heaven.

"And see ye not yon bonny road

That winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,

48

Where thou and I this night maun gae. 52

"But, Thomas, ye sall haud your tongue, Whatever ye may hear or see;

For speak ye word in Elflyn-land,

Ye'll ne'er win back to your ain coun

trie."

O they rade on, and farther on, And they waded rivers abune the knee; And they saw neither sun nor moon, But they heard the roaring of the sea.

It was mirk, mirk night, there was nae sternlight,

56

60

They waded thro' red blude to the knee; For a' the blude that's shed on the earth Rins through the springs o' that coun

trie.

Syne they came on to a garden green,
And she pu'd an apple frae a tree:
"Take this for thy wages, true Thomas;
It will give thee the tongue that can

never lie."

64

68

"My tongue is mine ain," true Thomas he
said;

“A gudely gift ye wad gie to me!
I neither dought to buy or sell

At fair or tryst where I might be.

"I dought neither speak to prince or peer, Nor ask of grace from fair ladye!". "Now haud thy peace, Thomas," she said. For as I say, so must it be."

66

72

76

He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,
And a pair of shoon of the velvet green;
And till seven years were gane and past,
True Thomas on earth was never seen. 80
Scott, Minst. Scot. Bord.

KEMP OWYNE

HER mother died when she was young,
Which gave her cause to make great moan;
Her father married the warst woman
That ever lived in Christendom.

[merged small][ocr errors]

In everything that she could dee, Till once, in an unlucky time,

She threw her in o'er Craigy's sea.

Says, "Lie you there, dove Isabel,
And all my sorrows lie with thee;

[blocks in formation]

Till Kemp Owyne come o'er the sea,
And borrow you with kisses three,
Let all the warld do what they will,
Oh, borrowed shall you never be!"

Her breath grew strang, her hair grew lang, 15 And twisted thrice about the tree,

And all the people, far and near,

Thought that a savage beast was she.

These news did come to Kemp Owyne,
Where he lived, far beyond the sea;
He hasted him to Craigy's sea,
And on the savage beast looked he.

Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,
And twisted was about the tree,

And with a swing she came about:
"Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me.

"Here is a royal belt," she cried,
"That I have found in the green sea;
And while your body it is on,
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow my belt your death shall be."

He stepped in, gave her a kiss,

The royal belt he brought him wi';

Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,
And twisted twice about the tree,

20

25

30

35

« AnteriorContinuar »