The Collected Works of William Morris With Introductions by his Daughter May Morris |
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| III, IV, V, VI. |
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| XIX. |
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| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
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 | The Collected Works of William Morris |  |
214
Then back they turned, and therewithal, the fourth
Said: “Take this gift for what it may be worth,
For that is mine to give; lo, thou shalt be
Gentle of speech, and in all courtesy
The first of men: a little gift this is,
After these promises of fame and bliss.”
Said: “Take this gift for what it may be worth,
For that is mine to give; lo, thou shalt be
Gentle of speech, and in all courtesy
The first of men: a little gift this is,
After these promises of fame and bliss.”
Then toward the babe the fifth fair woman went;
Grey-eyed she was and simple, with eyes bent
Down on the floor; parted her red lips were,
And o'er her sweet face marvellously fair
Oft would the colour spread full suddenly;
Clad in a dainty gown and thin was she,
For some green summer of the fay-land dight;
Tripping she went, and laid her fingers light
Upon the child, and said: “O little one,
As long as thou shalt look upon the sun
Shall women long for thee; take heed to this,
And give them what thou canst of love and bliss.”
Grey-eyed she was and simple, with eyes bent
Down on the floor; parted her red lips were,
And o'er her sweet face marvellously fair
Oft would the colour spread full suddenly;
Clad in a dainty gown and thin was she,
For some green summer of the fay-land dight;
Tripping she went, and laid her fingers light
Upon the child, and said: “O little one,
As long as thou shalt look upon the sun
Shall women long for thee; take heed to this,
And give them what thou canst of love and bliss.”
Then, blushing for her words, therefrom she past,
And by the cradle stood the sixth and last,
The fairest of them all; awhile she gazed
Down on the child, and then her hand she raised,
And made the one side of her bosom bare:
“Ogier,” she said, “if this be foul or fair
Thou know'st not now, but when thine earthly life
Is drunk out to the dregs, and war and strife
Have yielded thee whatever joy they may,
Thine head upon this bosom shalt thou lay;
And then, despite of knowledge or of God,
Will we be glad upon the flowery sod
Within the happy country where I dwell:
Ogier, my love that is to be, farewell!”
And by the cradle stood the sixth and last,
The fairest of them all; awhile she gazed
Down on the child, and then her hand she raised,
And made the one side of her bosom bare:
“Ogier,” she said, “if this be foul or fair
Thou know'st not now, but when thine earthly life
Is drunk out to the dregs, and war and strife
Have yielded thee whatever joy they may,
Thine head upon this bosom shalt thou lay;
And then, despite of knowledge or of God,
Will we be glad upon the flowery sod
Within the happy country where I dwell:
Ogier, my love that is to be, farewell!”
| The Collected Works of William Morris | |