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O, who rides by night thro’ the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.
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‘O father, see yonder! see yonder!’ he says;
‘My boy, upon what doest thou fearfully gaze?’
‘O, ’tis the Erl-King with his crown and his
shroud.’—
‘No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the
cloud.’
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(The Erl-King
speaks.)
‘O, come and go with me thou loveliest child,
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee full many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy.’
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‘O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?’—
‘Be still my heart’s darling, my child, be at
ease,
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro’ the
trees.’
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Erl-King.
‘O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear thee so lightly thro’ wet and
thro’ wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child.’
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‘O father, my father, and saw you not plain,
The Erl-King’s pale daughter glide past thro’
the rain?’—
‘O yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon,
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon.’
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| 276 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
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Erl-King.
‘Oh come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away.’—
‘Oh father! Oh father! now, now keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me—his grasp is so cold!’
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Sore trembled the father, he spurr’d thro’ the
wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp’d to his bosom, the infant was dead!”—
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