Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. With A Memoir of the Author. In Two Volumes |
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THERE WAS A BARD IN FEUDAL TIMES. |
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 | Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems |  |
THERE WAS A BARD IN FEUDAL TIMES.
I
There was a bard in feudal times,A peasant's only child;
And, like his native hills, his rhymes
Were beautiful and wild.
His harp was made of English oak.
And simple where its chords,
But what of that—its music spoke
The meaning of his words.
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II
Soon noble lords and ladies cameTo hear the minstrel's lay;
Sage, knight, and damsel breath'd his name,
The idol of the day.
He left his home, and threw aside
The harp so dear of old;
Within the halls of pomp and pride,
He freedom lost for gold.
III
Now forc'd and feeble was his song,Unsteady was his hand;
His spirit had been free too long
To bow to stern command.
Oh! nature's true simplicity,
Seek not the glare of art;
'Tis only when she copies thee,
That she can touch the heart!
| Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems | |