“Go chase thou the hart, and go chase thou the roe,
And thou thy love-longing wilt quickly forego.”
He chased the proud hart, and he chased the swift hind,
But he never could chase the fair maid from his mind.
He chased the tall hart, and he chased the sleek roe,
But the longing of love from his mind would not go.
So the knight from the country was driven at last,
And into a cloister the maiden was cast.
No little bird shaped from the far land its flight
Than enquiry she made for her dear betrothed knight.
A bird ne’er so little across the sea stray’d
But he enquired after his dear betrothed maid.
FINN AND THE DAMSEL
or
THE TRIAL OF WITS.
“What’s rifer than leaves?” Finn cried.
“Dew is more rife,” the damsel replied.
“Hotter than fire?” Finn cried.
“The face of a kind-hearted man,” she replied,
“When chance to his hut the stranger doth guide,
And unable he is for his guest to provide.”