They said the glance of an evil eye Had been on the knight's prosperity: Less swift on the quarry his falcon went, Less true was his hound on the wild deer's scent, And thrice in the list he came to the earth, Because, a little month ago, He had cut him down, with friendly ardour, Invented an atrocious fable, And libelled his fame at the Royal Table: And she at last, the worshipped one, For whom his valorous deeds were done, And made him fight so many duels, She, too, when Fate's relentless wheel Deprived him of the Privy Seal, And gave his letters to her mother. Fortune and fame,- he had seen them depart, With the silent pride of a valiant heart: Traitorous friends, he had passed them by, With a haughty brow and a stifled sigh. Boundless and black might roll the sea, O'er which the course of his bark must be; But he saw, through the storms that frowned above, One guiding star, and its light was Love. Now all was dark; the doom was spoken! His wealth all spent, and his heart half-broken, Poor youth, he had no earthly hope, Except in laudanum, or a rope. He ordered out his horse, and tried, As the Leech advised, a gentle ride. A pleasant path he took, Where the turf, all bright with the April showers, Was spangled with a hundred flowers, Beside a murmuring brook. Never before had he roved that way; And now, on a sunny first of May, Of turf, or flower, or stream; but only He had wandered, musing, scarce a mile, When, peeping o'er a rustic stile, Embowered in thick wood. There were small cottages, arrayed In the delicate jasmin's fragrant shade; And gardens, whence the rose's bloom He fancied,-'t was an idle whim, That the village looked like a home to him. And now a gentle maiden came, And wandered up the vale; Sir Isumbras had never seen A thing so fair,-except the Queen,— And her cheeks were wan and pale. Deep is the bliss of the belted knight, When he kisses at dawn the silken glove, And goes, in his glittering armour dight, To shiver a lance for his Lady-love!" That thrilling voice,- -so soft and clear, And those delicious drooping eyes, As blue and as pure as the summer skies, Had he, indeed, in other days, Been blessed in the light of their holy rays? He knew not; but his knee he bent About her beauty, and his passion. And that she warbled like a linnet; And that he loved her, though he ne'er Had looked upon her till that minute. He grieved to mention, that a Jew Had seized for debt his grand pavilion ; And he had little now, 't was true, To offer, but a heart and pillion: But what was wealth?-In many a fight,Though he, who should n't say it, said it,He still had borne him like a knight, And had his share of blows and credit; And, if she would but condescend To meet him at the Priest's to-morrow, And be henceforth his guide, his friend, In every toil, in every sorrow, They 'd sail instanter from the Downs ; He'd win them with the greatest pleasure. "A year is gone," the damsel sighed, But blushed not, as she so replied,"Since one I loved,-alas! how well He knew not, knows not,-left our dell. Time brings to his deserted cot No tidings of his after lot; But his weal or woe is still the theme Of my daily thought, and my nightly dream. Poor Alice is not proud or coy; But her heart is with her minstrel boy." Away from his arms the damsel bounded, "He is welcome,"-o'er his bed, Thus the beauteous Fairy said; |