5
And formest in the field of fight,
And foremost in the sport,
The brave Earl Leslie bore the palm
O'er all the Seottish eourt.
The Lady Arabella Stewart,
The daughter of a king,
Tho' her mother did not share a throne
Nor wear a wedding ring,
Cast eyes on this same noble lord
In her royal brother's hall,
And saw him, in faee and eourtly graee,
The fairest of them all.
And she has gotten her to the king,
Fallen low down on her knee—
"O royal Lord, O brother dear,
An asking grant to me!"
"Rise up! Rise up! Our sister dear,
Your asking you shall have,
Be it gold or gear, or house or land,
Or title, that ye erave."
"I crave nor title, house, nor land,
I erave nor gold, nor gear,
But it’s all for a lord at your royal court
That I plead in your royal ear.
Lord Leslie he has ensnared my heart,
By arts that I eannot divine;
And I erave your aid, my sovereign liege,
This witchery to untwine."
"And if Lord Leslie has stolen your heart,
This choiee to him I’ll gie,
Either to offer you marriage to-morrow,
Or else to be hanged on a tree."
Lord Leslie sat and laughed and joked,
In the midst of a merry ring,
When word was brought him to repair
To audienee with the King.
"There’s a nobleman at our court, Lord Earl,
Partaking our royal eheer,
Who by wicked art has trepanned the heart
Of a lady that we hold dear.
