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The Legends of the Rhine.
One bold Baron, double-dyed,
Bigamist and Parricide
And, as most the stories run,
Partner of the Evil One;
Injured innocence in white—
Fair, but idiotic quite—
Wringing of her lily hands;
Valor fresh from Paynim lands.
Abbot ruddy, hermit pale
Minstrel, fraught with many a tale,
Are the actors that combine
In the Legends of the Rhine.
Bell-mouthed flagons round a board,
Suits of armor, shield and sword,
Kerchief with its bloody stain,
Ghosts of the untimely slain,
Thunderclap and clanking chain,
Headsman's block and shining axe,
Thumbscrews, crucifixes, racks,
Midnight-tolling chapel bell
