Chapter XII: Part I

He mounted his steed of the water clear,
And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere;
He held his bridle of strings of pearl,
Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl.

He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth,
Soft and dainty as velvet cloth,
And donned his mantle of sand so white,
And grasped his sword of the coral bright.

And away he galloped, a horseman free,
Spurring his steed through the stormy sea,
Clearing the billows with bound and leap--
Away, away, o’er the foaming deep!

By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore,
By Garveloch isles where the breakers roar,
With his horse’s hoofs he dashed the spray,
And on to Loch Buy, away, away!

On to Loch Buy all day he rode,
And reached the shore as sunset glowed,
And stopped to hear the sounds of joy
That rose from the hills and glens of Moy.

The morrow was May, and on the green
They’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en,
And danced around, and piled it high
With peat and heather and pine-logs dry.

A piper played a lightsome reel,
And timed the dance with toe and heel;
While wives looked on, as lad and lass
Trod it merrily o’er the grass.

And Jessie (fickle and fair was she)
Sat with Evan beneath a tree,
And smiled with mingled love and pride,
And half agreed to be his bride.

The Kelpie galloped o’er the green--
He seemed a Knight of noble mien,
And old and young stood up to see,
And wondered who the Knight could be.

His flowing locks were auburn bright,
His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flashed light;
And as he sprang from his good grey steed,
He looked a gallant youth indeed.

And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high,
As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye:
And when he smiled, “Ah, well,” thought she,
“I wish this Knight came courting me!”

He took two steps towards her seat--
“Wilt thou be mine, O Maiden sweet?”
He took her lily-white hand, and sighed,
“Maiden, Maiden, be my bride!”

And Jessie blushed, and whispered soft--
“Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft;
I’ve dreamed, fair Knight, long time of thee--
I thought thou earnest courting me.”