His voice was like the running brook, when he began to speak:
“Oh, you have cast away the charm my stepdame put on me,
Seven years I dwelt in Faëryland, and you have set me free.
Oh, I will mount thy palfrey white, and ride to kirk with thee,
And, bv those little dewy eyes, we twain will wedded be!”
Back we galloped, never stopping, he before and I behind,
And the autumn leaves were dropping, red and yellow, in the wind;
And the sun was shining clearer, and my heart was high and proud,
As nearer, nearer, nearer, rang the kirk bells sweet and loud,
And we saw the kirk before us, as we trotted down the fells,
And nearer, clearer, o’er us, rang the welcome of the bells.
Ring, sing! ring, sing! pleasant Sabbath bells!
Chime, rime! chime, rime! through dales and dells!
Rime, ring! chime, sing! pleasant Sabbath bells!
Chime, sing! rime, ring! over fields and fells!
—Robert Buchanan.
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