Northumberland Yesterday and To-dayTerry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
History
Northumberland Yesterday and To-day
Terry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
Northumberland (England) -- Guidebooks; Northumberland (England) -- History
The news in due course comes to the ears of Princess Margaret’s
only brother, the Childe Wynde, who is away seeking fame and
fortune abroad. In fear for his lovely sister, he calls together
his “merry men all,” and they set to work to build a ship
“With masts of the rowan-tree,”
a sure defence against the spells of witchcraft; and hoisting their
silken sails they hasten homeward.
“... ... The wind with speed Blew them along the deep. The sea was
calm, the weather clear, When they approached nigher; King Ida’s
castle well they knew, And the banks of Bamburghshire.”
The wicked queen saw the little bark coming near, and knew that her
guilt was about to meet its reward. In haste she tried to wreck the
vessel, but the rowan-tree masts made her spells of no avail. Then
she bade her servants go to the beach and oppose the landing of the
Childe and his crew; but the servants were beaten back, and the
young knight and his men landed in Budle Bay. The worm came
fiercely to the attack, as the Childe Wynde advanced against it;
but on meeting him, and feeling the touch of his “berry-brown
sword,” it besought him to do it no harm.
“‘O quit thy sword, unbend thy brow, And give me kisses three; For
though I be a laidly worm No harm I’ll do to thee.
O quit thy sword, unbend thy brow, And give me kisses three; If I’m
not won ere the sun goes down Won shall I never be.’
He quitted his sword, and smoothed his brow, And gave her kisses
three; She crept intill the hole a worm, And came out a fayre ladie.”
The knight clasped his lovely sister in his arms, and, casting
around her his crimson cloak, led her back to her home, where the
trembling queen awaited them. Her doom was spoken by the Childe
Wynde—
“Woe be to thee, thou wicked witch; An ill death mayst thou dee! As
thou hast likened my sister dear, So likened shalt thou be”
and he turned her into the likeness of an ugly toad, in which
hateful shape she remained to her dying day, wandering around the
castle and the green fields, an object of hatred to all who saw
her. The “Spindlestone,” a tall crag on which the young knight hung
his bridle, when he went further on to seek the worm in the
“heugh,” is still to be seen, but the huge trough from which the
worm was said to drink has been destroyed.
There are two legends somewhat similar to each other which are told
of a company held in the spell of a magic sleep, to be awakened by
certain devices, in which the blowing of a horn and the drawing of
a sword are prominent. One is the story of “Sir Guy the Seeker,”
and is told of Dunstanborough Castle. Sir Guy sought refuge in the
Castle from a storm; and while within the walls a spectre form with
flaming hair addressed him,
“Sir knight, Sir knight, if your heart be right, And your nerves be
firm and true,”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account