Page:Poems Eliza Gabriella Lewis.djvu/37

My gallant band, your chief from bondage freed,
Hastes to rejoin yon;
But first redeem my pledge to that base churl,
Who, with his shaking fingers, loosed my chains,
And bade me send a heavy ransom for it.
My sister, 'tis reported, is immured
Near this wild spot;—
I'll hasten now to seek her;
Oft she hath relieved my hard necessities;
Praying me, with tears, to turn from my wild course.
But for her strict command, this trusty dagger
Would, ere this, have pierced her tyrant husband's heart.
I go to seek her.
[Jumps into the boat.—Exit between rocks.

Enter Soldiers.

 Capt. Thus far, my comrades, fled the bandit chief.—
Six thousand marks are set upon his head—
A noble bounty for the border wolf;