Page:The Poetical Works of William Motherwell, 1849.djvu/480



There came a knocking to the door, That hour so lone and stilly; And something to the maiden said— 'Arise for true love Willie!' Another knock! another still— Three knocks were given clearly— Then quickly rose the Port-Reeve's maid— Her seaman she loved dearly!

And first she saw a streak of light, Like moonshine cold and paly; And then she heard a well-known step— The maiden's pulse beat gaily! She saw a light, she heard a step, She marked a figure slender Across the threshold pass like thought, And stand in her lone chamber.

It paced the chamber once and twice, It crossed it three times slowly— But when she to her Maker prayed, It fled like sprite unholy. The form the vanished shadow wore Was of her true love Willie— 0 not a breath escaped the lips That pallid looked and chilly!