VI.
Why stands that chair
So empty there,
Whilst anxious eyes are cast around;
And looks that show
They do not know
Where one so worthy may be found?
The chair, they vow, shall empty stand,
To shew their loyalty and truth;
For each and all, this huntsman-band,
Admired and loved the gallant youth;
And said they, with a passing tear,
“How much we miss his presence here.”
VII.
Four-and-twenty huntsmen keen
Round the table sat, I ween;
Four-and-twenty footmen neat,
Plied the beer, and served the meat:
Landlady, and daughter fair
Paid their due obedience there.
Well I ween, each gallant youth,
Cast an eye upon the maid;
Each thought his look, in real truth,
By the maiden’s well repaid:
One alone, of all the crew,
More than all the others knew;
What he knew, I may not tell,
But the maiden knew full well.
VIII.
Fish, from Dunbar’s rocky shore,
Stood the president before,
If my mem’ry do not fail,
Sent by noble L— —le.
In the centre, soup was seen
Smoking, from a vase of snow.
Beef, at bottom, fat and lean,—
Beef of Indian Buffalo.
This was sent by T— —le’s peer
To augment the sportsman’s cheer;
T— —le, sprung from mighty H—y,
Foremost in the border day.
Tarts and pastry sent, I ween,
By the lady De G— —ne.
IX.
’Tis not for me to say what more
The hostess’ care supplied;
But welcome free, and open door,
And pease, from D— —h’s garden store,
Were seen on every side:
So one and all, at once agreed,
That bold B— —h had earlier seed
Than any northward of the Tweed.
X.
The dinner’s o’er, the circling glass
Now full, now emptier, passes round,
As strikes the ear, the pleasing sound
Of jovial song, or toasted lass:
But short, alas! this tabled glee;
For who the coming woe might see!
————
—Said I, D— —h’s much honoured chair
Might not be filled by any there;
And, said I, it was right that he,
Though absent from the company,
With honour due should treated be;
D— —h, so honoured for his worth,
For rank, for titles, and for birth,
Had not an equal here on earth,
To fill his vacant chair:
So one and all, with one consent,
Their voice have given, and vote have lent,
To let the seat be bare: