The Feud: A Border Ballad Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Adam Lindsay Gordon

The Feud: A Border Ballad Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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PLATE I	A
Rixa super mero	B
	-
They sat by their wine in the tavern that night	C
But not in good fellowship true	D
The Rhenish was strong and the Burgundy bright	C
And hotter the argument grew	D
	-
'I asked your consent when I first sought her hand	E
Nor did you refuse to agree	F
Tho' her father declared that the half of his land	E
Her dower at our wedding should be '	-
	-
'No dower shall be given the brother replied	G
With a maiden of beauty so rare	H
Nor yet shall my father my birthright divide	G
Our lands with a foeman to share '	-
	-
The knight stood erect in the midst of the hall	I
And sterner his visage became	J
'Now shame and dishonour my 'scutcheon befall	I
If thus I relinquish my claim '	-
	-
The brother then drained a tall goblet of wine	K
And fiercely this answer he made	L
'Before like a coward my rights I resign	K
I'll claim an appeal to the blade	L
	-
'The passes at Yarrow are rugged and wide	G
There meet me to morrow alone	M
This quarrel we two with our swords will decide	G
And one shall this folly atone '	-
	-
They've settled the time and they've settled the place	N
They've paid for the wine and the ale	O
They've bitten their gloves and their steps they retrace	N
To their castles in Ettrick's Vale	O
	-
	-
PLATE II	A
Morituri te salutant	G
	-
Now buckle my broadsword at my side	G
And saddle my trusty steed	G
And bid me adieu my bonnie bride	G
To Yarrow I go with speed	G
'I've passed through many a bloody fray	P
Unharmed in health or limb	Q
Then why's your brow so sad this day	P
And your dark eye so dim '	-
	-
'Oh belt not on your broadsword bright	G
Oh leave your steed in the stall	I
For I dreamt last night of a stubborn fight	G
And I dreamt I saw you fall '	-
	-
'On Yarrow's braes there will be strife	R
Yet I am safe from ill	S
And if I thought it would cost my life	R
I must take this journey still '	-
	-
He turned his charger to depart	G
In the misty morning air	H
But he stood and pressed her to his heart	G
And smoothed her glossy hair	H
	-
And her red lips he fondly kissed	G
Beside the castle door	T
And he rode away in the morning mist	G
And he never saw her more	T
	-
	-
PLATE III	A
Heu deserta domus	N
	-
She sits by the eastern casement now	U
And the sunlight enters there	H
And settles on her ivory brow	U
And gleams in her golden hair	H
On the deerskin rug the staghound lies	N
And dozes dreamily	S
And the quaint carved oak reflects the dyes	N
Of the curtain's canopy	F
	-
The lark has sprung from the new mown hay	P
And the plover's note is shrill	S
And the song of the mavis far away	P
Comes from the distant hill	S
And in the wide courtyard below	S
She heard the horses neigh	R
The men at arms pass to and fro	S
The scraps of border lay	P
She heard each boisterous oath and jest	G
The rough moss troopers made	G
Who scoured the rust from spur or crest	G
Or polished bit or blade	G
They loved her well those rugged men	V
How could they be so gay	P
When he perchance in some lone glen	V
Lay dying far away	P
	-
She was a fearless Border girl	S
Who from her earliest days	N
Had seen the banners oft unfurl	S
And the war beacons blaze	N
Had seen her father's men march out	G
Roused by the trumpet's call	S
And heard the foeman's savage shout	G
Close to their fortress wall	S
And when her kin were arming fast	G
Had belted many a brand	G
Why was her spirit now o'ercast	G
Where was her self command	G
She strove to quell those childish fears	N
Unworthy of her name	J
She dashed away the rising tears	N
And flushed with pride and shame	J
She rose and hurried down the stair	H
The castle yard to roam	W
And she met her elder sister there	H
Come from their father's home	W
'Sister I've ridden here alone	M
Your lord and you to greet '	-
'Sister to Yarrow he has gone	X
Our brother there to meet	G
I dreamt last night of a stubborn fray	P
Where I saw him fall and bleed	G
And he rode away at break of day	P
With his broadsword and his steed '	-
'Oh sister dear there will be strife	R
Our brother likes him ill	S
And one or both must forfeit life	R
On Yarrow's lonely hill '	-
	-
A stout moss trooper standing near	Y
Spoke with a careless smile	S
'Now have no fear for my master dear	Y
He may travel many a mile	S
And those who ride on the Border side	G
Albeit they like him not	G
They know his mettle has oft been tried	G
Where blows were thick and hot	G
He left command that none should go	S
From hence till home he came	J
But lady the truth you soon shall know	S
If you will bear the blame	J
Your palfrey fair I'll saddle with care	H
Your sister shall ride the grey	P
And I'll mount myself on the sorrel mare	H
And to Yarrow we'll haste away '	-
	-
The sun was low in the western sky	A
And steep was the mountain track	Z
But they rode from the castle rapidly	F
Oh how will they travel back	Z
	-
	-
PLATE IV	R
Gaudia certaminis	N
	-
He came to the spot where his foe had agreed	G
To meet him in Yarrow's dark glade	G
And there he drew rein amd dismounted his steed	G
And fastened him under the shade	G
	-
Close by in the greenwood the ambush was set	G
And scarce had he entered the glen	V
When armed for the combat the brother he met	G
And with him were eight of his men	V
	-
'Now swear to relinquish all claim to our land	G
Or to give as a hostage your bride	G
Or fly if you're able or yield where you stand	G
Or die as your betters have died '	-
	-
His doublet and hat on the greensward he threw	D
He wrapt round the left arm his cloak	A2
And out of its scabbard his broadsword he drew	D
And stood with his back to an oak	A2
	-
'My claim to your land I refuse to deny	A
Nor will I restore you my bride	G
Now will I surrender nor yet will I fly	A
Come on and the steel shall decide '	-
	-
Oh sudden and sure were the blows that he dealt	G
Like lightning the sweep of his blade	G
Cut and thrust point and edge all around him they fell	S
They fell one by one in the glade	G
	-
And pierced in the gullet their leader goes down	B2
And sinks with a curse on the plain	C2
And his squire falls dead cut through headpiece and crown	B2
And his groom by a back stroke is slain	C2
	-
Now five are stretched lifeless disabled are three	F
Hard pressed see the last caitiff reel	S
The brother behind struggles up on one knee	F
And drives through his body the steel	S
	-
	-
PLATE V	F
Non habeo mihi facta adhuc cur Herculis uxor	F
Credar coniugii mors mihi pignus erit	G
	-
The traitor's father heard the tale	S
In haste he mounted then	V
And spurred his horse from Ettrick Vale	S
To Yarrow's lonely glen	V
Some troopers followed in his track	Z
For them he tarried not	G
He neither halted nor looked back	Z
Until he found the spot	G
	-
The earth was trod and trampled bare	F
And stained with dark red dew	G
A broken blade lay here and there	F
A bonnet cut in two	G
And stretched in ghastly shapes around	G
The lifeless corpses lie	A
Some with their faces to the ground	G
And some towards the sky	A
And there the ancient Border chief	R
Stood silent and alone	M
Too stubborn to give way to grief	R
Too stern remorse to own	M
A soldier in the midst of strife	R
Since he had first drawn breath	D2
He'd grown to undervalue life	R
And feel at home with death	D2
And yet he shuddered when he saw	N
The work that had been done	E2
He knew his fearless son in law	N
He knew his dastard son	E2
Despite the failings of his race	N
A brave old man was he	F
Who would not stoop to actions base	N
And hated treachery	F
He loved his younger daughter well	S
And though severe and rude	G
For her sake he had tried to quell	S
That foolish Border feud	G
Her brother all his schemes had marred	G
And given his pledge the lie	A
And sense of justice struggled hard	G
With nature's stronger tie	A
He knew his son had richly earned	G
The stroke that laid him low	S
Yet had not quite forgiveness learned	G
For him that dealt the blow	S
	-
There came a tramp of horses' feet	G
He raised his startled eyes	N
And felt his pulses throb and beat	G
With sorrow and surprise	N
He saw his daughter riding fast	G
And from her steed she sprung	F2
And on her lover's corpse she cast	G
Herself and round him clung	F2
Her head she pillowed on his waist	G
And all her clustering hair	F
Hung down disordered by her haste	G
In silken masses there	F
Her sister and their sturdy guide	G
Dismounted and drew nigh	A
The elder daughter stood aside	G
Her tears fe	R