Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The Knight of the Wood " T FEAR the Knight of the Wood," she said: " For him may no man overthrow. Where boughs are matted thick o'erhead, There gleams, amid the shadows dread, The terror of his armour red ; And all men fear him, high and low ; Yet all must through the forest go." She paused awhile where larches flame About the borders of the wood ; Then, crying loud on Love's high name To keep her maiden-heart from shame, She entered, and full-swiftly came Where, hooded with a scarlet hood, A rider in her pathway stood. She saw the gleam of armour red ; She saw the fiery pennon wave Its flaming terror overhead 'Mid writhing boughs and shadows dread. " Ah God," she cried : " that I were dead, And laid for ever in my grave! " Then, swooning, called on Love to save. Among the springing fern she fell, And very nigh to death she lay ; Till, like the fading of a spell At ringing of the matin-bell, The darkness left her; by a well She waked beneath the open day, And rose to go upon her way; When, once again, the ruddy light Of arms she saw, and turned to flee ; But clutching brambles stayed her flight; While, marvelling, she saw the Knight Unhooded ; and his eyes were bright With April colours of the sea; And crowned as a King was he. She knelt before him in the ferns, And sang: "O Lord of Love, I bow Before thy shield, where blazoned burns The flaming heart with light that turns The night to day. O heart that yearns For love, lo, Love before thee now— The wild-wood knight with crowned brow ! " Notre Dame de la Belle -Verriere A BOVE Thy halo's burning blue For ever hovers the White Dove ; Thy heart enshrines, for ever new, The Cross—the Crown of all Thy love; While, sapphire wing on sapphire wing, About Thee choiring angels swing G...