For she is come of high lineage, And was of a lady born, And ill it beseems thee, a false churl's son, "But light now down, my lady fair, But light now down, my dear lady, Fair Emmeline sighed, fair Emmeline wept, While twixt her love and the carlish knight The Child of Elle he fought so well, And his weapon he waved amain, And laid him upon the plain. 1[This stanza is particularly watery: Percy has manufactured nearly the whole ballad, the Folio fragment consisting of only nine and a half stanzas.] And now the baron, and all his men Ah! what may Lady Emmeline do? Her lover he put his horn to his mouth, And blew both loud and shrill, And soon he saw his own merry men Come riding over the hill. "Now hold thy hand, thou bold Baron, Nor ruthless rend two gentle hearts, Thy daughter I have dearly loved O give consent she may be mine, My mother she was an Earl's daughter, The baron he frowned, and turned away Fair Emmeline sighed, fair Emmeline wept, And did all trembling stand; At length she sprang upon her knee, And held his lifted hand. "Pardon, my lord and father dear, This fair young knight and me: Trust me, but for the carlish knight, I never had fled from thee. Oft have you called your Emmeline The baron he stroked his dark brown cheek, And turned his head aside To wipe away the starting tear In deep revolving thought he stood, And mused a little space; Then raised fair Emmeline from the ground, many a fond embrace. With "Here take her, Child of Elle," he said, And gave her lily hand; "Here take my dear and only child, And with her half my land. Thy father once my honor wronged, In days of youthful pride; Do thou the injury repair In fondness for thy bride. And as thou love her and hold her dear, The Child of Elle is given from a fragment in the Editor's folio MS.; which, though extremely defective and mutilated, appeared to have so much merit, that it excited a strong desire to attempt a completion of the story. The reader will easily discover the supplemental stanzas by their inferiority, and at the same time be inclined to pardon it, when he considers how difficult it must be to imitate the affecting simplicity and artless beauties of the original. Child was a title sometimes given to a knight. |