Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE DUKE OF GRAFTON, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE DUKE OF GRAFTON, by                    
First Line: "as two men were a-walking, down by the sea-side"
Last Line: Where the royal queen mary went weeping away
Subject(s): "fitzroy, Henry. 1st Duke Of Grafton;mary Ii, Queen Of England (1662-1694);


As two men were a-walking, down by the sea-side,
O the brave Duke of Grafton they straightway espied,
Said the one to other, and thus did they say,
It is the brave Duke of Grafton that is now cast away.
They brought him to Portsmouth, his fame to make known,
And from thence to fair London, so near to the throne;
They pulled out his bowels, and they stretched forth his feet,
They embalmed his body with spices so sweet.
All things were made ready, his funeral for to be,
Where the royal Queen Mary came there for to see,
Six Lords went before him, six bore him from the ground,
Six Dukes walked before him in black velvet gowns.
So black was their mourning, so white were their bands!
So yellow were their flamboys they carried in their hands!
The drums they did rattle, the trumpets sweetly sound,
While the muskets and cannons did thunder all around.
In Westminster Abbey 'tis now called by name,
There the great Duke of Grafton does lie in great fame;
In Westminster Abbey he lies in cold clay
Where the royal Queen Mary went weeping away.





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