Songs of the Cavaliers and Roundheads Jacobite Ballads, &c. &c. By George W. Thornbury ... with illustrations by H. S. Marks |
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HOW SIR RICHARD DIED. |
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 | Songs of the Cavaliers and Roundheads |  |
41
HOW SIR RICHARD DIED.
Stately as bridegroom to a feast,
Sir Richard trod the scaffold stair,
And, bowing to the crowd, untied
The love-locks from his sable hair;
Took off his watch, “Give that to Ned,
I've done with time,” he proudly said.
Sir Richard trod the scaffold stair,
And, bowing to the crowd, untied
The love-locks from his sable hair;
Took off his watch, “Give that to Ned,
I've done with time,” he proudly said.
'Twas bitter cold—it made him shake—
Said one, “Ah! see the villain's look?”
Sir Richard, with a scornful frown,
Cried—“Frost not fear my body shook!”
Giving a gold piece to the slave,
He laughed—“Now praise me master knave!”
Said one, “Ah! see the villain's look?”
Sir Richard, with a scornful frown,
Cried—“Frost not fear my body shook!”
Giving a gold piece to the slave,
He laughed—“Now praise me master knave!”
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They pointed, with a sneering smile,
Unto a black box, long and grim;
But no white shroud, or badge of death,
Had power to draw a tear from him;
“It needs no lock,” he said, in jest,
“This chamber, where to-night I rest.”
Unto a black box, long and grim;
But no white shroud, or badge of death,
Had power to draw a tear from him;
“It needs no lock,” he said, in jest,
“This chamber, where to-night I rest.”
Then crying out—“God save the king!”
In spite of hiss and shout and frown;
He stripped his doublet, dropped his cloak,
And gave the headsman's man a crown;
Then, “Oh! for heaven!” proudly cried,
And bowed his head—and so he died.
In spite of hiss and shout and frown;
He stripped his doublet, dropped his cloak,
And gave the headsman's man a crown;
Then, “Oh! for heaven!” proudly cried,
And bowed his head—and so he died.
| Songs of the Cavaliers and Roundheads | |