University of Virginia Library

MASTER.

Master went a-hunting,
When the leaves were falling;
We saw him on the bridle path,
We heard him gaily calling.
"Oh, master, master, come you back,
For I have dreamed a dream so black!"
A glint of steel from bit and heel,
The chestnut cantered faster,
A red flash seen amid the green,
And so good-by to master.
Master came from hunting,
Two silent comrades bore him;
His eyes were dim, his face was white,
The mare was led before him.
"Oh, master, master, is it thus
That you have come again to us?"
I held my lady's ice-cold hand,
They bore the hurdle past her;
Why should they go so soft and slow?
It matters not to master.