William Julius Mickle

Cumnor Hall

THE DEWS of summer night did fall;
  The moon, sweet regent of the sky,
Silvered the walls of Cumnor Hall,
  And many an oak that grew thereby.

Now naught was heard beneath the skies,	
  The sounds of busy life were still,
Save an unhappy lady’s sighs,
  That issued from that lonely pile.

“Leicester,” she cried, “is this thy love
  That thou so oft hast sworn to me,
To leave me in this lonely grove,
  Immured in shameful privity?

“No more thou com’st with lover’s speed
  Thy once belovéd bride to see;
But be she alive or be she dead,
  I fear, stern Earl, ’s the same to thee.

“Not so the usage I received
  When happy in my father’s hall;
No faithless husband then me grieved,
  No chilling fears did me appall.

“I rose up with the cheerful morn,—
  No lark more blithe, no flower more gay;
And like the bird that haunts the thorn,
  So merrily sung the livelong day.

“If that my beauty is but small,
  Among court ladies all despised,
Why didst thou rend it from that hall
  Where, scornful Earl, it well was prized?

“And when you first to me made suit,
  How fair I was! you oft would say;
And, proud of conquest, plucked the fruit,
  Then left the blossom to decay.

“Yes! now neglected and despised,
  The rose is pale, the lily ’s dead;
But he that once their charms so prized	
  Is sure the cause those charms are fled.

“For know, when sickening grief doth prey,
  And tender love ’s repaid with scorn,
The sweetest beauty will decay:
  What floweret can endure the storm?

“At court, I ’m told, is beauty’s throne,
  Where every lady ’s passing rare,
That Eastern flowers, that shame the sun,
  Are not so glowing, not so fair.

“Then, Earl, why didst thou leave the beds
  Where roses and where lilies vie,
To seek a primrose, whose pale shades
  Must sicken when those gauds are by?

“’Mong rural beauties I was one,
  Among the fields wild flowers are fair;
Some country swain might me have won,
  And thought my beauty passing rare.

“But, Leicester, (or I much am wrong,)
  Or ’t is not beauty lures thy vows;
Rather ambition’s gilded crown
  Makes thee forget thy humble spouse.

“Then, Leicester, why, again I plead,
  (The injured surely may repine!)—
Why didst thou wed a country maid,
  When some fair princess might be thine?

“Why didst thou praise my humble charms,
  And, oh! then leave them to decay?
Why didst thou win me to thy arms,
  Then leave to mourn the livelong day?

“The village maidens of the plain
  Salute me lowly as they go;
Envious they mark my silken train,
  Nor think a countess can have woe.

“The simple nymphs! they little know
  How far more happy ’s their estate;
To smile for joy than sigh for woe,
  To be content than to be great.

“How far less blest am I than them!
  Daily to pine and waste with care,
Like the poor plant, that, from its stem
  Divided, feels the chilling air.

“Nor, cruel Earl! can I enjoy
  The humble charms of solitude;
Your minions proud my peace destroy,
  By sullen frowns or pratings rude.

“Last night, as sad I chanced to stray,
  The village death-bell smote my ear;
They winked aside, and seemed to say,
  ‘Countess, prepare, thy end is near!’

“And now, while happy peasants sleep,
  Here I sit lonely and forlorn;
No one to soothe me as I weep,
  Save Philomel on yonder thorn.

“My spirits flag, my hopes decay,
  Still that dread death-bell smites my ear;
And many a boding seems to say,
  ‘Countess, prepare, thy end is near!’”

Thus sore and sad that lady grieved,
  In Cumnor Hall so lone and drear;
And many a heartfelt sigh she heaved,
  And let fall many a bitter tear.

And ere the dawn of day appeared,
  In Cumnor Hall, so lone and drear,
Full many a piercing scream was heard,
  And many a cry of mortal fear.

The death-bell thrice was heard to ring,
  An aerial voice was heard to call,
And thrice the raven flapped its wing
  Around the towers of Cumnor Hall.

The mastiff howled at village door,
  The oaks were shattered on the green;
Woe was the hour; for never more
  That hapless countess e’er was seen!

And in that manor now no more
  Is cheerful feast and sprightly ball;	
For ever since that dreary hour
  Have spirits haunted Cumnor Hall.

The village maids with fearful glance
  Avoid the ancient moss-grown wall,
Nor ever lead the merry dance
  Among the groves of Cumnor Hall.

Full many a traveller oft hath sighed,
  And pensive wept the countess’ fall,
As wandering onwards they ’ve espied
  The haunted towers of Cumnor Hall.