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 |
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The Eve of the Laird's Funeral.
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 | Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs |  |
The Eve of the Laird's Funeral.
The gossips are chattering over the bowl;
The bell may toll
For the dead man's soul—
Still they sit gossiping over the bowl—
Stirring the bowl! stirring the bowl!—
Crones all gossiping over the bowl.
The bell may toll
For the dead man's soul—
Still they sit gossiping over the bowl—
Stirring the bowl! stirring the bowl!—
Crones all gossiping over the bowl.
Eager eyes and listening faces,
Fingers that point to shadowy places—
“Lord, what a night for a ship at sea!”
“Hark to the wind on the fallow lea!”—
So they are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
Fingers that point to shadowy places—
“Lord, what a night for a ship at sea!”
“Hark to the wind on the fallow lea!”—
So they are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“A week to-morrow the old man died,
And none but us to watch by his side.
Hark how the wind roars over the roof,
Spurning the tiles like a devil's hoof!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
And none but us to watch by his side.
Hark how the wind roars over the roof,
Spurning the tiles like a devil's hoof!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
261
“Old Sir Richard has gone a week:
How hard he tried at last to speak,
As he looked, with a wild and wondering stare,
At his first wife's picture over the chair.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
How hard he tried at last to speak,
As he looked, with a wild and wondering stare,
At his first wife's picture over the chair.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“What is that scratching at the door?—
Come, gossips, come, just one glass more;
And then we'll make the corpse so trim,
For the great oak coffin is waiting for him!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
Come, gossips, come, just one glass more;
And then we'll make the corpse so trim,
For the great oak coffin is waiting for him!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“I know a chest, where there may be
An old square parchment, that's worth the see
Of the richest lawyer in all Scotland.—
I don't say more, but you understand.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
An old square parchment, that's worth the see
Of the richest lawyer in all Scotland.—
I don't say more, but you understand.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“There's a box below the dead laird's bed.—
But I've said more than I should have said.
It may astonish the folk from Perth,
When the laird is snug under the churchyard earth.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
But I've said more than I should have said.
It may astonish the folk from Perth,
When the laird is snug under the churchyard earth.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“Madam is proud as a royal queen:
She may think she was never seen;
But through that mirror that's over the fire,
I saw as much as I could desire.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
She may think she was never seen;
But through that mirror that's over the fire,
I saw as much as I could desire.”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
“She is proud; but she'd best beware,
With her head tossed back and her scornful air!—
But not a word of what I've said
Of her, or the lassie, or of the dead!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
With her head tossed back and her scornful air!—
But not a word of what I've said
Of her, or the lassie, or of the dead!”—
The gossips are chattering over the bowl, &c., &c.
| Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs | |