Can I not view a Highland brand, I'll turn to rest, and dream no more." A prayer with every bead of gold, 735 740 745 CANTO SECOND THE ISLAND I AT morn the black cock trims his jetty wing, And while yon little bark glides down the bay, And sweetly o'er the lake was heard thy strain, Mixed with the sounding harp, O white-haired Allanbane ! II SONG "Not faster yonder rowers' might Not faster yonder rippling bright, That tracks the shallop's course in light, Than men from memory erase The benefits of former days; Then, stranger, go! good speed the while, "High place to thee in royal court, High place in battled line, Good hawk and hound for sylvan sport! Where beauty sees the brave resort, The honored meed be thine ! 10 15 20 True be thy sword, thy friend sincere, Thy lady constant, kind, and dear, III SONG CONTINUED "But if beneath yon southern sky A plaided stranger roam, Whose drooping crest and stifled sigh, Pine for his Highland home; 25 30 And sunken cheek and heavy eye, Then, warrior, then be thine to show The care that soothes a wanderer's woe; 35 A stranger in the lonely isle. "Or if on life's uncertain main Mishap shall mar thy sail; If faithful, wise, and brave in vain, 40 Beneath the fickle gale; Waste not a sigh on fortune changed, On thankless courts, or friends estranged, But come where kindred worth shall smile, 45 IV As died the sounds upon the tide, 50 |