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
devotion, in rescuing her from this castle of the son of a Scottish
lord who fain would have made her his bride, before she, too, lay
lifeless by the side of her brave rescuer, leaving her lover too
despairing and desolate to seek safety in flight, so that the band
of searchers from the castle, seeking their prisoner on the hills,
and dreading their lord’s wrath on his return, bore him back with
them to the dungeon. Their lord, however, had meantime been taken
captive by Percy (Hotspur), who, as soon as he heard of Bertram’s
capture, quickly exchanged the Scottish chief for his friend.
Bertram’s sorrow lasted for the rest of his days; he gave away his
lands and possessions to the poor, and retiring to a lovely spot on
the banks of the Coquet, where rocky cliffs overhung the river, he
carved out in the living stone a little cell, dormitory, and
chapel, and dwelt there, passing his days in mourning, meditation,
and prayer. In the chapel, with its gracefully arched roof, he
fashioned on an altar-tomb the image of a lady, and at her feet the
figure of a hermit, in the attitude of grief, one hand supporting
his head and the other pressed against his breast, leaning over and
gazing at the lady for ever. The poignant sentence “My tears have
been my meat day and night,” is carved over the entrance to the
little chapel. Here, in this beautiful spot, almost under the
shadow of the castle walls belonging to his noble friend, the
sorrowing knight, now a holy hermit, spent the remainder of his
life in the little dwelling he had wrought in the living rock. It
remains to-day more beautiful, if possible, than ever, overhung by
a canopy of waving greenery, and draped with ferns and mosses,
their graceful fronds laved by the rippling Coquet whose gentle
murmurings fill the still air with music.
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