Poetry > Lady of the lake

96
THE LADY OF THE LAKE.
Canto II.
Right up Ben-Lomond could he press,
And not a sob his toil confess.
His form accorded with a mind
Lively and ardent, frank and kind:
A blither heart, till Ellen came,
Did never love nor sorrow tame;
It danced as lightsome in his breast,
As play’d the feather on his crest.
Yet friends, who nearest knew the youth,
His scorn of wrong, his zeal for truth,
And bards, who saw his features bold •
When kindled by the tales of old,
Said, were that youth to manhood grown,
Not long should Roderick Dhu’s renown
Be foremost voiced by mountain fame,
But quail to that of Malcolm Grseme.
XXVI.
Now back they wend their watery way,
And, “ 0 my sire!” did Ellen say,
“ Why urge thy chase so far astray ?
And why so late return’d? And why”—
The rest was in her speaking eye.
“ My child, the chase I follow far,
’Tis mimicry of noble war;
And with that gallant pastime reft
Were all of Douglas I have left.
I met young Malcolm as I stray’d,
Far eastward, in Glenfinlas’ shade.