Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs By Walter Thornbury. Illustrated by J. Whistler, F. Walker, John Tenniel, J. D. Watson, W. Small, F. Sandys, G. J. Pinwell, T. Morten, M. J. Lawless, and many others |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
Two Country Houses.
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
 | Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs |  |
Two Country Houses.
I. LADYWELL.
Ladywell is fair and stately,
Proud it stands, and yet sedately,—
With its turrets glowing red
In the sunshine overhead;
With its windows golden bright
In the great sun's gentle light;
With its meadows, and a stream
Flowing with a silvery gleam:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
Proud it stands, and yet sedately,—
With its turrets glowing red
In the sunshine overhead;
With its windows golden bright
In the great sun's gentle light;
With its meadows, and a stream
Flowing with a silvery gleam:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
Ladywell is sweet and pleasant:
There the rich-plumed Indian pheasant
Breaks in flashes from the covert,
Startling the moody lover;
There the rabbits play and feed
In the mushroom-dotted mead;
Children, bound with flowery chains,
Course along the shady lanes:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Went my days at Ladywell.
There the rich-plumed Indian pheasant
Breaks in flashes from the covert,
Startling the moody lover;
There the rabbits play and feed
In the mushroom-dotted mead;
Children, bound with flowery chains,
Course along the shady lanes:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Went my days at Ladywell.
In the fir-trees, dark and tall,
By the warren's mossy wall,
Builds the mother-dove her nest
(Bird I love by far the best),
With a brooding lullaby
Greeting me as I pass by,—
Bringing once more to my eyes
Dreams and pleasant memories:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
By the warren's mossy wall,
Builds the mother-dove her nest
(Bird I love by far the best),
With a brooding lullaby
Greeting me as I pass by,—
Bringing once more to my eyes
Dreams and pleasant memories:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
There the farmer—happy fellow!—
Sees his thick wheat turning yellow;
There the black bees restless graze
On the daisies' snowy rays,
On the wild rose hung with dew,
On the cornflower's radiant blue,
On the harebells thin and frail,
On the black-eyed poppies' veil:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Went my days at Ladywell.
Sees his thick wheat turning yellow;
There the black bees restless graze
On the daisies' snowy rays,
On the wild rose hung with dew,
On the cornflower's radiant blue,
On the harebells thin and frail,
On the black-eyed poppies' veil:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Went my days at Ladywell.
There the hedges' flowery tangle
Echo with the young birds' jangle:
And the wild thrush, singing, vies,
While the cuckoo silent flies;
And the lark, in wingéd song,
Tracks the fleece-cloud, glad and strong;
And the young birds, in a row,
Greet him from the wood below:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
Echo with the young birds' jangle:
And the wild thrush, singing, vies,
While the cuckoo silent flies;
And the lark, in wingéd song,
Tracks the fleece-cloud, glad and strong;
And the young birds, in a row,
Greet him from the wood below:
Oh, merry as a marriage-bell
Passed my days at Ladywell.
216
II. MERRY MOUNT.
I'm the lord of Merry Mount.
Merry Mount is fair and stable,
With its weathercocks ashine
Twinkling in a golden line,
With its terrace and its fount,
With its oriel and its gable:
Proud am I of Merry Mount!
Merry Mount is fair and stable,
With its weathercocks ashine
Twinkling in a golden line,
With its terrace and its fount,
With its oriel and its gable:
Proud am I of Merry Mount!
Look at princely Merry Mount!
See the red deer leap and trample,
Hear the pheasants how they call,
Round the old park's girdling wall!
Ought I not to be a Count,
With this broad domain so ample,
Or the Duke of Merry Mount?
See the red deer leap and trample,
Hear the pheasants how they call,
Round the old park's girdling wall!
Ought I not to be a Count,
With this broad domain so ample,
Or the Duke of Merry Mount?
Nowhere else but Merry Mount
Do the trout leap up in flashes,
Or such blackbirds' carols meet
In one silver pulse and beat;
In no blue air such a fount
Bursts up through the sapling ashes:
Proud am I of Merry Mount!
Do the trout leap up in flashes,
Or such blackbirds' carols meet
In one silver pulse and beat;
In no blue air such a fount
Bursts up through the sapling ashes:
Proud am I of Merry Mount!
| Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs | |