The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd Centenary Edition. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson ... Poems and Life. With Many Illustrative Engravings [by James Hogg] |
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 | The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd |  |
The seer retired, but quickly stay'd,
And turning short, to Eric said—
“Sire, I request, before I go,
From thy own lips this thing to know—
Where be the maidens that were sent
As hostages unto thy tent?
For they were noble maids each one:
Then say, without evasion,
Where they are now, for words are said
Which tend thy honour to upbraid,
And manhood too. Then pr'ythee, tell,
Where be the maids we love so well?”
And turning short, to Eric said—
“Sire, I request, before I go,
From thy own lips this thing to know—
Where be the maidens that were sent
As hostages unto thy tent?
For they were noble maids each one:
Then say, without evasion,
Where they are now, for words are said
Which tend thy honour to upbraid,
And manhood too. Then pr'ythee, tell,
Where be the maids we love so well?”
| The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd | |