Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HOW SIR RICHARD DIED, by GEORGE WALTER THORNBURY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HOW SIR RICHARD DIED, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Stately as bridegroom to a feast
Last Line: And bowed his head -- and so he died.
Subject(s): Capital Punishment; Hanging; Executions; Death Penalty


STATELY as bridegroom to a feast,
Sir Richard trod the scaffold stair,
And bowing to the crowd, untied
The love locks from his sable hair;
Took off his watch, "Give that to Ned,
I've done with time," he proudly said.

'Twas bitter cold -- it made him shake --
Said one, "Ah! see the villain's look?"
Sir Richard, with a scornful frown,
Cried -- "Frost, not fear, my body shook!"
Giving a gold piece to the slave,
He laughed, "Now praise me, master knave!"

They pointed, with a sneering smile,
Unto a black box, long and grim;
But no white shroud, or badge of death
Had power to draw a tear from him;
"It needs no lock," he said in jest,
"This chamber, where to-night I rest."

Then crying out -- "God save the king!"
In spite of hiss, and shout, and frown;
He stripped his doublet, dropped his cloak,
And gave the headsman's man a crown;
Then, "Oh! for Heaven!" proudly cried,
And bowed his head -- and so he died.





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