The Captain of the Guard

It may easily be supposed that, with all his anxiety for the fate of his kinsman, Sir Patrick's desire to see, or be near Murielle, was also near his heart; and inspired by this...

"Their swords smote blunt upon our steel, And keen upon our buff; The coldest blooded man of us Had battering enough; 'Twas butt to butt, and point to point, And eager pike to p...

The towers in different ages rose, Their various architecture shows The builders' various hands; A mighty mass, that could oppose When deadliest hatred fired its foes, The venge...

Some seek the Edens of the east, Some Carrib isles explore; The forests of the far-off west, And Afric's savage shore. _Still_ charms of native speech and spot, And native sprin...

Of this great voyage which you undertake, Much by his skill and much by my advice Hath he foreknown, and welcome for my sake You both shall be, the man is kind and wise.

With every exertion, the best of men can do but a moderate amount of good; but it seems in the power of the most contemptible individual to do indescribable mischief.--WASHINGTO...

Little honour it won thee For smooth was thy greeting; Thou wast bid to the feast, In the hall was your meeting. In the hall was your meeting, But thou stained it with slaughter...

She was mounted on a milk-white steed, And he on a dapple grey; And a bugle-horn hung by his side, When he lightly rode away. Lord William looked over his right shoulder, To see...

Now like a maiden-queen she will behold To her high turrets hourly suitors come; The East with incense and the West with gold, Shall stand like suppliants to receive her doom. T...

Bluidie was the braid saddle lap, And bluidie was the crupper; Sae bluidie as my true love's hands, When we sat down to supper. "There's water in the siller dish, Gae wash thy h...

It might be months, or years, or days, I kept no count--I took no note; I had no hope my eyes to raise, And clear them of their dreary mote.--BYRON.

Seven orbs within a spacious round they close, One stirs the fire, and one the bellows blows; The hissing steel is in the smithy drown'd, The grot with beaten anvils groans arou...

Playing at the tables, he There was murder'd. At his shrine Many a noble lady wept; Many a knight of valiant line: One mourn'd more than all the rest, Daughter of the Genovine.

Peace, lady; pause, or be more temperate: It ill beseems this presence to cry aim To these ill-timed repetitions. Some trumpet summon hither to the walls These men of Angiers; l...

On the evening of the 22nd November, 1440, the report of a brass carthoun, or cannon-royale, as it pealed from the castle of Edinburgh, made all who were in the thoroughfares be...

Longing for the next evening--the _third_ appointed by the abbot, as the time when he was to meet Murielle again, Sir Patrick Gray sat at the latticed window of his room, gazing...

Awake, awake! lover, I bring, I bring Most gladsome news, that blissful are and sure Of thy comfort; now laugh, and play, and sing. Full soon thou shalt achieve thine adventure,...

In her did beauty, youth, and bounty dwell, A virgin port and features feminine; Far better than my feeble tongue can tell, Did meek-eyed wisdom in her features shine; She seeme...

Mounted on fine horses, the bridles and saddles of which were covered by elaborate steel and silver bosses, Sir Patrick Gray, Captain of the King's Guard, with his cousin and Li...

"And I have been long enough in France and elsewhere to forget even my mother tongue, as well as my dear mother's face; yet she was Isabel of Lennox," said Albany, sadly; "but l...

A simultaneous cry burst from all on seeing this sure and terrible forerunner of a sudden death; all sprang from the table, and instinctively did so, sword in hand; for at the s...

Three miles from the southern gate of Bommel, on the road which led to Ameldroyen, there stood a solitary auberge, or wayside tavern. It was named _The Forester_, from the circu...

After passing Alphen, Sir Patrick crossed an old stone bridge, and found himself in the Bommelerwaard, a fertile island, formed by the Waal and the Maese; and about noon, he rea...

Now gleams the moon on Arthur's mighty crest, That dweller in the air abrupt and lone; Hush'd is Edina in her nightly rest, But hark! there comes a sweet and solemn tone, The li...

Murder, madam! 'Tis self-defence. Besides, in these skirmishes there are never more than two or three killed; for, supposing they bring the whole body of militia upon us, down w...

This tower rose to the height of more than seventy feet above the summit of the steep rock. It contained a great hall and many lesser chambers, and was founded by David II., abo...

Before Gray crossed the Dee at Kelton, there came over the scenery a dense white mist, which rolled like smoke along the hills, and hung in dewdrops on his horse's mane and brid...

Oh, men of Scotland, though you cannot raise Your long past monarchs from the silent bier; Their deeds are worthy of your highest praise, And simple gratitude demands a tear. Le...

After what had occurred at Duke Reinald's cross, and being bewildered by the whole affair of the ring--an affair which seemed so inexplicable, Gray armed himself with more than...

"By foul treachery. The Saxon garrison yielded, and the keys were to be presented on the point of a knight's lance; but at the moment of doing so, the knight, like a mansworn tr...

Well, then, to work; our cannon shall be bent Against the brows of this resisting town; Call for our chiefest men of discipline To cull the plots of best advantages: We'll lay b...

There was a cruel banter in his manner, a bitter smile on his face, and Gray grew pale, and felt the blood rush back upon his heart with a terrible foreboding as they crossed th...

The summer brook flows in the bed The winter torrent tore asunder; The skylark's gentle wings are spread Where walk'd the lightning and the thunder: And thus you'll find the ste...

Her lips were a cloven honey cherrie, So tempting to the sight; Her locks owre alabaster brows Fell like the morning light. And, oh! the breeze it lifted her locks, As through t...

Sir Patrick Gray so entirely lost his self-possession, that he was rapidly swept away, jostled, tossed and pushed here and there, by a rush of the crowd, who were making off to...

Sir Patrick Gray laid aside his helmet and gauntlets, and with a freshly peeled willow rod, the old Scottish symbol of peace and truce in his right hand, rode boldly forward, an...

At this time the house of Douglas, one which in past ages had ever led the van of battle in the cause of Scottish honour and liberty, had attained the most exorbitant, and in th...

He wrapp'd his cloak upon his arm, he smote away their swords, Striking hard and sturdy buffets on the mouths of those proud lords; Snapping blades and tearing mouths, like a li...

The nobles of our land were much delighted then, To have at their command a crew of lusty men; Who by their coats were known of tawny, red, or blue, With crests their sleeves up...

When stars are in the quiet skies, Then most I pine for thee; Bend on me then thy tender eyes, As stars look on the sea! For thoughts, like waves that glide by night, Are stille...

First rose a star out owre the hill, And next the lovelier moon; While the bonnie bride o' Galloway Looked for her blythe bridegroom; Lythlie she sang as the new moon rose, Blyt...

"I wake to sad reality, the days of youth have fled-- The flower, the shrub, the velvet turf have long ere now been dead; The brook that ran so merrily has ceased to bubble by,...

Sweet love! sweet lines! sweet life! Here is her hand, the agent of her heart; Here is her oath for love, her honour's power: Oh that our fathers would applaud our loves, To sea...

Sad airs like those she heard in infancy, Fell on her soul and filled her eyes with tears; And recollections came of happier years, Thronging from all the cells of memory.

Let never man be bold enough to say-- Thus, and no further, shall my passion stray; The first crime past compels us into more, And guilt grows _fate_, that was but _choice_ before.

Clad in a robe of fine scarlet cloth, which was lined with white fur, and fastened by a brooch or jewel at the neck, and which was open just enough to show an undershirt and lon...

To Gray it seemed as if Heaven or fate had conspired with Douglas to keep him and Murielle separate for the period of their natural lives; though King James assured him that his...

The poor girl had frequently been fretted and galled by hearing a much-loved name--alas! it might only be a much-revered _memory_--reviled; yet she bore it meekly, hoping daily...

And joy is mine When the strong castles besieged shake, And walls uprooted, totter and quake, And I see the foemen join, On the moated shore all compass'd round With palisade an...

The three knights who wore the Golden Fleece of Burgundy, proved to be the prince of Ravenstein, the marquis of Berg, and Englebert, count of Nassau, who was hereditary burg gra...

The spring of 1443 was ripening into summer around the Scottish capital. The green corn was sprouting in the fields; the April gowans and the budding whins made gay the upland s...

Though the season was summer, the _St. Regulus_ of Pittenweem did not cross the German Ocean without peril; for one night, and during the following day, there blew a tempest fro...

"What more have I to hear of this false noble and his followers?" said the king, after briefly, and to Gray's great annoyance, rehearsing the whole story of the murder of his va...

Black is my steed as a cloud of rain, There's a star of white on his brow; The free gales play with his feathery mane, And lightnings gleam round his feet of snow.

Reining in his horse, while all his party did the same, the elder gentleman, who was without the helmet, but wore a plumed cap, and who appeared to be the leader, hastily addres...

By the time when the garrulous old abbot had concluded his story the night was far advanced. The lights in the sconces and the fire had burned low, while the ladies looked pale...

Next day the duke's party traversed the marshes of Peeland, and reached the city of Gueldres. A fleet horseman having been sent on before, Gray was received with considerable st...