The heir of Rookwood.
231
We loitering followed broke against a hedge
That parted Rookwood from the broad domain
Nursed for my cousin Arthur, who, abroad,
Studied the graces of a foreign court.
That parted Rookwood from the broad domain
Nursed for my cousin Arthur, who, abroad,
Studied the graces of a foreign court.
The idle tales linked to my Lilia's birth
Were not forgotten. Peasants, round their hearths,
Told how they'd seen her upon giddy boughs
Rocked like a bird to slumber; how she sat
On the wet rocks and crowned her hair with flowers,
Singing witch melodies. Some even swore
They'd met her spirit in the fields at night,
White-robed and talking softly.
I had made
No secret of the past, but led my charge,
When her small feet could tread the unequal path,
Down to the lilied pool, and told her there
Of the pale lady crowned with scarlet blooms,
Whose hair curled round the lily stems, whose arms
Sheltered an infant; and I think this gave
A colour to her nature.
Did I note
Were not forgotten. Peasants, round their hearths,
Told how they'd seen her upon giddy boughs
Rocked like a bird to slumber; how she sat
On the wet rocks and crowned her hair with flowers,
Singing witch melodies. Some even swore
They'd met her spirit in the fields at night,
White-robed and talking softly.
I had made
No secret of the past, but led my charge,
When her small feet could tread the unequal path,
Down to the lilied pool, and told her there
Of the pale lady crowned with scarlet blooms,
Whose hair curled round the lily stems, whose arms
Sheltered an infant; and I think this gave
A colour to her nature.
Did I note
