The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Song of Deirdra, King Byrge and his
Brothers, by Anonymous, Edited by Thomas Wise, Translated by George Borrow

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Title: The Song of Deirdra, King Byrge and his Brothers
and Other Ballads

Author: Anonymous

Editor: Thomas Wise

Release Date: May 15, 2009 [eBook #28826]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SONG OF DEIRDRA, KING BYRGE
AND HIS BROTHERS***

Transcribed from the 1913 Thomas J. Wise pamphlet by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org

THE SONG OF DEIRDRA
KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS
AND
OTHER BALLADS

BY
GEORGE BORROW

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION

1913

_Copyright in the United States of America_
_by Houghton_, _Mifflin & Co. for Clement Shorter_.

THE SONG OF DEIRDRA

Farewell, grey Albyn, much loved land,
I ne'er shall see thy hills again;
Upon those hills I oft would stand
And view the chase sweep o'er the plain.

'Twas pleasant from their tops I ween
To see the stag that bounding ran;
And all the rout of hunters keen,
The sons of Usna in the van.

The chiefs of Albyn feasted high,
Amidst them Usna's children shone;
And Nasa kissed in secrecy
The daughter fair of high Dundron.

To her a milk-white doe he sent,
With little fawn that frisked and played
And once to visit her he went,
As home from Inverness he strayed.

The news was scarcely brought to me
When jealous rage inflamed my mind;
I took my boat and rushed to sea,
For death, for speedy death, inclined.

But swiftly swimming at my stern
Came Ainlie bold and Ardan tall;
Those faithful striplings made me turn
And brought me back to Nasa's hall.

Then thrice he swore upon his arms,
His burnished arms, the foeman's bane,
That he would never wake alarms
In this fond breast of mine again.