To the hut of the peasant, or lordly hall, <br />To the heart of the king, or humblest thrall, <br />Sooner or late, love comes to all, <br />And it came to the Grand Seigneur, my dear, <br />It came to the Grand Seigneur. <br /> <br />The robins were singing a roundelay, <br />And the air was sweet with the breath of May, <br />As a horseman rode thro' the forest way, <br />And he was a Grand Seigneur, my dear, <br />He was a grand Seigneur. <br /> <br />Lord of the Manor, Count Bellefontaine, <br />Had spurr'd over many a stormy plain <br />With gallants of France at his bridle rein, <br />For he was a brave Cavalier, my dear-- <br />He was a brave Cavalier. <br /> <br />But the huntsman's daughter, La Belle Marie, <br />Held the Knight's proud heart in captivity, <br />And oh! she was fair as the fleur de lys, <br />Tho' only a peasant maid, my dear, <br />Only a peasant maid. <br /> <br />Thro' the woodland depths on his charger grey <br />To the huntsman's cottage he rides away, <br />And the maiden lists to a tale to-day <br />That haughtiest dame might hear, my dear, <br />That haughtiest dame might hear. <br /> <br />But she cried 'Alas! it may never be, <br />For my heart is pledged to the young Louis, <br />And I love him, O Sire, so tenderly, <br />Tho' he's only a poor Chasseur, my Lord, <br />Only a poor Chasseur.' <br /> <br />'Enough,' spake the Knight with a courtly bow, <br />'Be true to thy lover and maiden vow, <br />For virtue like thine is but rare, I trow, <br />And farewell to my dream of love, and thee, <br />Farewell to my dream of thee.' <br /> <br />And they say the gallant Count Bellefontaine <br />Bestowed on the couple a rich domain, <br />But you never may hear such tale again, <br />For he was a Grand Seigneur, my dear, <br />He was a Grand Seigneur!<br /><br />William Henry Drummond<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-grand-seigneur/
