The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing Christopher Marlowe. THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB1 THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold, And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen; Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown. For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still. And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; 1 Note 8. And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, SIR PATRICK SPENS THE king sits in Dunfermline toun, Oh, up and spake an eldern knight, Our king has written a braid letter, "To Noroway, to Noroway, To Noroway o'er the faem; The king's daughter of Noroway, The first word that Sir Patrick read, The neist word that Sir Patrick read, "Oh wha is this has done this deed, To send us out, at this time of the year, "Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet, Our ship must sail the faem; The king's daughter of Noroway, 'Tis we must fetch her hame." They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn, Wi' a' the speed they may; And they hae landed in Noroway Upon a Wedensday. They hadna been a week, a week In Noroway but twae, When that the lords o' Noroway Began aloud to say: "Ye Scottishmen spend a' our king's gowd, And a' our queenis fee." "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liars loud! Fu' loud I hear ye lie! "For I hae brought as much white monie As gane my men and me, And I hae brought a half-fou' o' gude red gowd Out o'er the sea wi' me. "Make ready, make ready, my merry men a'! "I saw the new moon, late yestreen, They hadna sailed a league, a league, A league but barely three, When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud, And gurly grew the sea. The ankers brak, and the top-masts lap, It was sic a deadly storm; And the waves cam' o'er the broken ship Till a' her sides were torn. "Oh, where will I get a gude sailor, To take my helm in hand, Till I get up to the tall top-mast, To see if I can spy land?" "Oh here am I, a sailor gude, To take the helm in hand, Till ye get up to the tall top-mast: But I fear you'll ne'er spy land." He hadna gane a step, a step, When a bout flew out of our goodly ship, And the salt sea it came in. "Gae, fetch a web o' the silken claith, Another o' the twine, And wap them into our ship's side, And letna the sea come in." They fetched a web o' the silken claith, Another o' the twine, And they wapped them round that gude ship's side, But still the sea came in. Oh, laith, laith were our gude Scots lords To wet their cork-heeled shoon! But lang ere a' the play was played And mony was the feather-bed The ladyes wrang their fingers white, A' for the sake of their true loves, For them they'll see na mair. |