Classic Poem

Lord Robert and fair Ellen both
Came flying on a horse of might:
They left five brethren on the ground
Before they fled from hall that night

The first river they came unto,
It did but wet the horse's feet:
It was as sad as the ashes of fire;
Long time they tarried in its street.

" And oh! fair Ellen, " Lord Robert said,
" I had slain but four instead of five! "
" Now rest thee well, Lord Robert, " she said,
" For thou and I are here alive. "

The next river they came unto
It went up to the horse's knees;
The ice was broken all about;
It shone like the sun on the leaves of trees.

" And would for thy sake we both had died,
Before I stood within thy bower! "
" I greeted thee well, Lord Robert, " she said,
" And better to think of the sweet than the sour. "

The third river they came unto
To the middle of the flank increased;
The ice was sailing all around,
It shone like the sun on the fell of a beast

" Ah! where is thy false nurse Jan this night,
Who kept the watch above thy bower? "
" Nurse Jan needs watch no more, " she said,
" And better to think of seed than sower "

The next river they rode unto,
Over the wither-band did break;
The ice did break on fair Ellen's foot,
It shone like the sun on a coiling snake

" We never have met, I swear to thee,
Alas! and we are woe together. "
" Have courage, my lord, " fair Ellen said,
" We two shall merrily win this weather. "

The next river they came unto,
The stream ran over the horse's flank;
The ice poured down from side to side,
It shone like shore-grass dry and lank.

He never spake a word again,
But drew her arm right through his own;
She bent her white hand in his hand,
Until it pressed on his breast-bone.

The next river they came unto,
It rose up to the horse's head;
A fire upon the midst did burn,
The waves like rolling meadows spread.

The ice rolled heavily about,
Like briny monsters of the sea:
He drew her round him on the horse,
And there they two well buried be.