Ellen Gray :: :: University of Virginia Library

Ellen Gray

or, The dead maiden's curse. A poem, by the late Dr. Archibald Macleod [i.e. W. L. Bowles]

Bowles, William Lisle (1762-1850)

II.

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Then, as she stray'd the brook's green marge along,
She oft would sing this sad and broken song:—

Lay me where the willows wave,
In the cold moon-light;
Shine upon my quiet grave,
Softly, queen of night!

I to thee would fly for rest,
But a stone—a stone—
Lies like lead upon my breast,
All hope on earth is flown.

Lay me where the willows wave,
In the cold moon-light;
Shine upon my quiet grave,
Softly, queen of night !

The cadence of this song is taken from a ballad “most musical, most melancholy,” in the British tragedy, “Lay a garland on my grave.”