Through the lattice he bore her, and fast did he fold In his arms the sweet prize from the wind and the cold; Sprang the wall to his steed, and o'er moorland and plain Bore her off to his Tower by the Dacor again. And the Cliffords that morn in their banquetting hall Read the legend his dagger had traced on the wall-- "In the annals of Dacre the story is told Of Matilda the Fair and Lord Ranulph the Bold! "The bride-meats unbaked, and the bride-cup unbrew'd, Not by bridesmaid for bride even a rose to be strew'd, Was the way with our sire in that story of old Of Matilda the Fair and Lord Ranulph the Bold! "But they woke up to fury in Warwick that morn. For a bride from their Fortress by night had been borne. And your annals in Brough'm of its sluggards shall ring, That have lost for the Cliffords the Ward of their King." The beard of that Baron curled fiercely with ire, And the blood through his veins raged--a torrent of fire, As he glanced from the panel by turns to his sword; And then strode from the hall without deigning a word. They sought her through turret, by bush, and by stone; But the bower had been broken, the Beauty was gone; And the joy-bells of Dacre from Greystock to Brough'm Pealed the news through the vales that the bride was brought home. NOTES TO "THE BRIDALS OF DACRE." Dacre Castle, one of the outermost of a chain of border fortresses stretching down the valleys of the Eamont and the Eden in Cumberland, is a plain quadrangular building, with battlemented parapets, and four square turrets, one at each corner; it is now converted into a farm house. The moat is filled up, although the site is still to be traced, and the outworks are destroyed. There are two entrances--one at the west tower, and another between the towers in the east front. The walls are about seven feet in thickness. There are two arched dungeons communicating by steps with the ground floor; and access was obtained to the roof by means of four circular staircases, one in each tower; some of which are now closed up. The staircases, however, did not conduct to the top of the towers; this was gained by means of stone steps from the roof of the Castle. Bede mentions a monastery, which being built near the river Dacor, took its name from it, over which the religious man Suidbert presided. It was probably destroyed by the Danes, and never restored; and there are no vestiges of it remaining: the present church is supposed to have been built from the ruins.