Were I with thee I would be blest,
Where thou lies low and takes thy rest,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
Where thou lies low and takes thy rest,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
William Wordsworth
p.
317.
The original ballad--well known though it is--may be quoted as an
admirable illustration of the different types of poetic genius in
dealing with the same, or a kindred, theme.
I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries;
O that I were where Helen lies,
On fair Kirkconnell lee!
Cursed be the heart that thought the thought,
And curst the hand that fired the shot,
When in my arms burd Helen dropt,
And died to succour me!
Oh think ye na my heart was sair,
When my love dropt down and spake nae mair!
There did she swoon wi' meikle care,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
As I went down the water side,
None but my foe to be my guide,
None but my foe to be my guide,
On fair Kirkconnell lee--
I lighted down, my sword did draw,
I hacked him in pieces sma',
I hacked him in pieces sma',
For her sake that died for me.
Oh, Helen fair, beyond compare!
I'll weave a garland of thy hair
Shall bind my heart for evermair,
Until the day I dee!
Oh that I were where Helen lies!
Day and night on me she cries;
Out of my bed she bids me rise,
Says, "Haste, and come to me! "
O Helen fair! O Helen chaste!
Were I with thee I would be blest,
Where thou lies low and takes thy rest,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
I wish my grave were growing green,
A winding sheet drawn o'er my e'en,
And I in Helen's arms lying
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries,
And I am weary of the skies,
For her sake that died for me!
Ed.
* * * * *
HART-LEAP WELL
Composed 1800. --Published 1800
Hart-Leap Well is a small spring of water, about five miles from
Richmond in Yorkshire, and near the side of the road which leads from
Richmond to Askrigg. Its name is derived from a remarkable chace, the
memory of which is preserved by the monuments spoken of in the second
Part of the following Poem, which monuments do now exist as I have there
described them. --W. W. 1800.
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The first eight stanzas were composed
extempore one winter evening in the cottage, when, after having tired
myself with labouring at an awkward passage in 'The Brothers', I started
with a sudden impulse to this to get rid of the other, and finished it
in a day or two. My sister and I had passed the place a few weeks before
in our wild winter journey from Sockburn on the banks of the Tees to
Grasmere. A peasant whom we met near the spot told us the story so far
as concerned the name of the Well, and the Hart, and pointed out the
Stones. Both the stones and the well are objects that may easily be
missed.
The original ballad--well known though it is--may be quoted as an
admirable illustration of the different types of poetic genius in
dealing with the same, or a kindred, theme.
I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries;
O that I were where Helen lies,
On fair Kirkconnell lee!
Cursed be the heart that thought the thought,
And curst the hand that fired the shot,
When in my arms burd Helen dropt,
And died to succour me!
Oh think ye na my heart was sair,
When my love dropt down and spake nae mair!
There did she swoon wi' meikle care,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
As I went down the water side,
None but my foe to be my guide,
None but my foe to be my guide,
On fair Kirkconnell lee--
I lighted down, my sword did draw,
I hacked him in pieces sma',
I hacked him in pieces sma',
For her sake that died for me.
Oh, Helen fair, beyond compare!
I'll weave a garland of thy hair
Shall bind my heart for evermair,
Until the day I dee!
Oh that I were where Helen lies!
Day and night on me she cries;
Out of my bed she bids me rise,
Says, "Haste, and come to me! "
O Helen fair! O Helen chaste!
Were I with thee I would be blest,
Where thou lies low and takes thy rest,
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
I wish my grave were growing green,
A winding sheet drawn o'er my e'en,
And I in Helen's arms lying
On fair Kirkconnell lee.
I wish I were where Helen lies!
Night and day on me she cries,
And I am weary of the skies,
For her sake that died for me!
Ed.
* * * * *
HART-LEAP WELL
Composed 1800. --Published 1800
Hart-Leap Well is a small spring of water, about five miles from
Richmond in Yorkshire, and near the side of the road which leads from
Richmond to Askrigg. Its name is derived from a remarkable chace, the
memory of which is preserved by the monuments spoken of in the second
Part of the following Poem, which monuments do now exist as I have there
described them. --W. W. 1800.
[Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The first eight stanzas were composed
extempore one winter evening in the cottage, when, after having tired
myself with labouring at an awkward passage in 'The Brothers', I started
with a sudden impulse to this to get rid of the other, and finished it
in a day or two. My sister and I had passed the place a few weeks before
in our wild winter journey from Sockburn on the banks of the Tees to
Grasmere. A peasant whom we met near the spot told us the story so far
as concerned the name of the Well, and the Hart, and pointed out the
Stones. Both the stones and the well are objects that may easily be
missed.
