THE BRIDAL OF TRIERMAIN. CANTO FIRST. I. WHERE is the Maiden of mortal strain, That may 1 match with the Baron of Triermain ?1 She must be lovely, and constant, and kind, Holy and pure, and humble of mind, Blithe of cheer, and gentle of mood, 1 Triermain was a fief of the Barony of Gilsland, in Cumberland; it was possessed by a Saxon family at the time of the Conquest, but," after the death of Gilmore, Lord of Tryermaine and Torcrossock, Hubert Vaux gave Tryermaine and Torcrossock to his second son, Ranulph Vaux; which Ranulph afterwards became heir to his elder brother Robert, the founder of Lanercost, who died without issue. Ranulph, being Lord of all Gilsland, gave Gilmore's lands to his own younger son, named Roland, and let the Barony descend to his eldest son Robert, son of Ranulph. Roland had issue Alexander, and he Ranulph, after whom succeeded Robert, and they were named Rolands successively, that were lords thereof, until the reign of Edward the Fourth. That house gave for arms, Vert, a bend dexter, chequy, or and gules."-Burn's Antiquities of Westmoreland and Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 482. See Appendix, Note A. Lovely as the sun's first ray, When it breaks the clouds of an April day; Gentle as breeze that but whispers and dies, Yet blithe as the light leaves that dance in its sighs; Courteous as monarch the morn he is crown'd, Generous as spring-dews that bless the glad ground; Noble her blood as the currents that met In the veins of the noblest Plantagenet— Such must her form be, her mood, and her strain, II. Sir Roland de Vaux he hath laid him to sleep, All in the castle must hold them still, Harpers must lull him to his rest, With the slow soft tunes he loves the best, Till sleep sink down upon his breast, Like the dew on a summer hill. III. It was the dawn of an autumn day; When that Baron bold awoke. IV. "Hearken, my minstrels! Which of Touch'd his harp with that dying fall, So sweet, so soft, so faint, It seem'd an angel's whisper'd call ye all And hearken, my merry-men! What time or where Did she pass, that maid with her heavenly brow, With her look so sweet and her eyes so fair, V. Answer'd him Richard de Bretville; he Have sat since midnight close, When such lulling sounds as the brooklet sings, And hush'd you to repose. When she thinks her lover near." Else had I heard the steps, though low And light they fell, as when earth receives, In morn of frost, the wither'd leaves, That drop when no winds blow." VI. "Then come thou hither, Henry, my page, And redden'd all the Nine-stane Hill, The trustiest thou of all my train, My fleetest courser thou must rein, And ride to Lyulph's tower, Greet well that Sage of power. He the characters can trace, To that enchanting shape gave birth, If that fair form breathe vital air, 1 Dunmailraise is one of the grand passes from Cumberland into Westmoreland. It takes its name from a cairn, or pile of stones, erected, it is said, to the memory of Dunmail, the last King of Cumberland. 2["Just like Aurora when she ties A rainbow round the morning skies." VOL. XI. C MOORE.] |