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THE PALMER.

"O OPEN the door, some pity to show,

Keen blows the northern wind;

The glen is white with the drifted snow, And the path is hard to find.

"No outlaw seeks your castle gate,

From chasing the king's deer,

Though even an outlaw's wretched state Might claim compassion here.

66 A

weary Palmer, worn and weak,

I wander for my sin;

O open for Our Lady's sake,

A pilgrim's blessing win!

12

"I'll give you pardons from the Pope,

And reliques from o'er the sea,—

Or if for these

you

will not ope,

Yet open for charity.

"The hare is crouching in her form,

The hart beside the hind;

An aged man, amid the storm,

No shelter can I find.

"You hear the Ettrick's sullen roar,

Dark, deep, and strong is he;

And I must ford the Ettrick o'er,

Unless you pity me.

"The iron gate is bolted hard,

At which I knock in vain ;

The owner's heart is closer barr'd,

Who hears me thus complain.

"Farewell, farewell! and Mary grant,

When old and frail you be,

You never may the shelter want,

That's now denied to me.".

The Ranger on his couch lay warm,
And heard him plead in vain ;

But oft, amid December's storm,

He'll hear that voice again :

For lo, when through the vapours dank,

Morn shone on Ettrick fair,

A

corpse

amid the alders rank,

The Palmer welter'd there.

THE

MAID OF NEIDPATH.

THERE is a tradition in Tweeddale, that when Neidpath Castle, near Peebles, was inhabited by the Earls of March, a mutual passion subsisted between a daughter of that noble family, and a son of the Laird of Tushielaw, in Ettrick Forest. As the alliance was thought unsuitable by her parents, the young man went abroad. During his absence, the lady fell into a consumption; and at length, as the only means of saving her life, her father consented that her lover should be recalled. On the day when he was expected to pass through Peebles, on the road to Tushielaw, the young lady, though much exhausted, caused herself to be carried to the balcony of a house in Peebles, belonging to the family, that she might see him as he rode past. Her anxiety and eager

ness gave such force to her organs, that she is said to have distinguished his horse's footsteps at an incredible distance. But Tushielaw, unprepared for the change in her appearance, and not expecting to see her in that place, rode on without recognizing her, or even slackening his pace. The lady was unable to support the shock, and, after a short struggle, died in the arms of her attendants. There is an instance similar to this traditional tale in Count Hamilton's "Fleur d'Epine."

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