How he had pointed to their sires, and reasoned of disgrace,
While bitter disappointment had paled his noble face;
Then how, relenting for the sake of her long since in heaven,
He'd ta'en his boy unto his heart, and seeming wrong forgiven.
Then o'er the dreamer's youthful face there stooped a passing cloud;
But an angel voice made whisper beyond the satin shroud,
As a gentle hand pressed tenderly upon the smooth, white brow,
"I loved thee, Oh my little one!—I love and bless thee now."
II.
Oh! saddest note in saddening song!
The fair, unwedded bride With reason fled, might oft be seen
Near by the river side.
Now plaiting wreaths of sweet, wild flowers
To rhythms light and gay; Now listening for the manly step
She hailed in former day.
Till the Father, in His mercy,
Sent an angel from above To tend her guileless spirit up
Into the haven of love. Earl Crawfurd, crushed with shame and woe
Bent low his stately head; And, ere the forest leaves were strewn,
He slumbered with his dead.
His mansion, with ancestral lands,
Rich farms and pastures fair; A vast and goodly heritage,
Passed to a distant heir.
So now, in its kingly grandeur
Of terrace, arch and tower, Stands Crawfurd Castle, mute and lone
As hermit in his bower.
SONGS OF SCOTIA.