Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DEATH OF THE DOUGLAS, SELS., by DOUGLAS AINSLIE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DEATH OF THE DOUGLAS, SELS., by             Poem Explanation        
First Line: To the banners of scotland there rallied
Subject(s): Douglas, Sir James De Douglas, Lord Of


When the Bruce was at rest at Dumfermline
Not at rest , not at rest , was his heart,
But in casket of gold and in ermine
Enwrapped till the Douglas depart,
It lay on the white marble altar,
Where Scotland shed tear upon tear;
For the heart of the lover shall falter,
When parting is near.


To the caravel moored at the jetty ,
All crimson of dais and sail,
Where the Right Lion Scots ever ready
Rides free on the wings of the gale,
Comes the Douglas; the waves will be roaring
To welcome the heart of the King,
Wild sea-birds be calling and soaring,
Crowds kneeling on ling.


When the Douglas gives order: slip cable,
With a plunge like a war -horse set free
From the stalls of Poseidon's own stable,
She marries the sea.
As the Douglas and Sinclair and Logan
Hold fast by the rail with a hand,
And the boom of the surf drowns the slogan
They sound on the land .
Then, obeying the dead King's own order,
The Douglas casts anchor at Sluys,
Where he welcomes all men aboard her
In the name of the heart of the Bruce .
All the goblets they drink of are golden ,
Their platters are all of red gold;
Vair, samite , and satin unfolden ,
Soft fold upon fold;
From the chests of the vessel that bore them
On couch and on dais they fling,
And the arms on the canopy o'er them
Are the arms of the King.
For in all things the Douglas was loyal
And remembered the words that he spake,
How the voyage of the heart should be royal
And grand for his sake.
Then the herald , as Bruce had ordained it ,
Went with banner and trumpet ashore,
And parading the town he proclaimed it ,
Brought faces to window and door:
That all gallant knights whosoever,
Whom the wisdom of Douglas shall choose,
Will make the last venture together
With heart of the Bruce.
To the banner of Scotland there rallied
Twelve knights that forth of Almayn ,
Then to sea from the haven they sallied
And set them for Spain;
Past Cornwall and Brittany sailing,
The pillars of Hercules past.
Till the blue of the sea -mist unveiling,
Shows Seville at last .
Here the King of all Spain sends them greeting
And gifts both of jewels and gold;
But their quest is for something less fleeting
Than aught can be given or sold;
His gifts they restore , but are willing
To combat the Saracen there,
The behest of the monarch fulfilling
Whose heart is their care .
The Saracen rides in his splendour;
Quoth Alfonso to Douglas: "Be thine
To lead forth the vanguard; I render
To Douglas the place that is mine.'
He gives him the flower of his horsemen ,
And the Scotsmen are all with their chief,
O, the sun shines full bright on their course then ,
A shield in relief.


As the clarion soundeth the onslaught,
From its chain doth the Douglas make loose
The casket with lions thereon wrought,
That holdeth the heart of the Bruce;
And " 0 , heart," quoth the Douglas , " that ever
Was wont with the foremost to fight,
The sword that us twain shall dissever
Shall bring me the night."
Then he casts it and, shouting his war - cry:
"A Douglas! A Douglas! " he dives
To the place where he sees it afar lie ,
As he mows down the Saracen lives .
He comes to it; hasten , O Sinclair,
Behold how the Saracen press;
Dig the spurs deep for Douglas and win there
To aid his distress!


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Thus they meet with their death, for they ask it ,
And the best of all deaths they have died;
And the heart of the Bruce in its casket
Lies pressed to the Douglas's side.
Saint Andrew of Scotland watched o'er it ,
O'er the body of Douglas Saint Bride,
Good Sir William of Keith 'twas that bore it
Back home o'er the tide
With the casket and heart, and they laid them ,
The casket and heart at Melrose,
As the good Earl of Moray he bade them;
But the bones of the Douglas repose
In the Church of Saint Bride 'neath the granite,
Where yet ye shall view , an ye please ,
Eighth marvel of seven on our planet,
The Douglas at peace.








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