Author: Howard Pyle
Quotes of Author: Howard Pyle
Then Allan touched his harp lightly, and all words were hushed while he sang thus: "'Oh, where has thou been, my daughter?Oh, where hast thou been this dayDaughter, my daughter?''Oh, I have been to the river's side,Where the waters lie all gray and wide,And the gray sky broods o'er the leaden tide,And the shrill wind sighs a straining.' "'What sawest thou there, my daughter?What sawest thou there this day,Daughter, my daughter?''Oh, I saw a boat come drifting nigh,Where the quivering rushes hiss and sigh,And the water soughs as it gurgles by,And the shrill wind sighs a straining.' "'What sailed in the boat, my daughter?What sailed in the boat this day,Daughter, my daughter?''Oh, there was one all clad in white,And about his face hung a pallid light,And his eyes gleamed sharp like the stars at night,And the shrill wind sighed a straining.' "'And what said he, my daughter?What said he to thee this day,Daughter, my daughter?''Oh, said he nought, but did he this:Thrice on my lips did he press a kiss,And my heartstrings shrunk with an awful bliss,And the shrill wind sighed a straining.' "'Why growest thou so cold, my daughter?Why growest thou so cold and white,Daughter, my daughter?'Oh, never a word the daughter said,But she sat all straight with a drooping head,For her heart was stilled and her face was dead:And the shrill wind sighed a straining." All listened in silence; and when Allan a Dale had done King Richard heaved a sigh. "By the breath of my body, Allan," quoth he, "thou hast" book-quote
