The Highwayman by. Alfred Noyes

The Highwayman By. Alfred Noyes

Part One
I
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding- Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
IV
And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked,
Where Tim the hostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-
V
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
VI
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.

Part Two
I
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching-
Marching-marching-
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
II
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.
III
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say-
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
IV
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till here fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness,
and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
V
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.
VI T
lot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it?
The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance?
Were they deaf that they didnot hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!
VII
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence!
Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him-with her death.
VIII
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there. IX
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat ,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.
* * * * * *
X
And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding-
Riding-riding-
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
XI
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters,but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Richard Roxburgh

Hi ya'll, Haven't posted in a while. Haven't actually done anything though. Just thought I'd take a moment to say...... Richard Roxburgh Rules !! If you haven't seen the movie Van Helsing you should. ( he's Dracula in it.) Tootles!!

First Chair !!!

Yep, I got first chair!! ( ALthough Matthew has already told you. : P ) I'm so happy. I was really worried that a seventh grader was going to take my chair, but I'm still in my spot and the world is a better place. Tootles.

Avoiding the inevitable

I'm sure that anyone reading this is tired of my constant complaining about the upcoming try outs. a.k.a. the end of my life, but I must say that I'm mortified of the outcome. I'm sure I couldn't get last chair. * blinks* What if I suck so bad that I get last chair!!! I had never actually thought about that possibility. It's not like the last chair is any better than the first chair. All the positions are important in some way.......... That's the kind of thing Mr. C , my band director, would say to the losers. * cries* I could be practicing ,but if I practice then I realize tht I suck at playing and that there is a chance that the seventh graders might end up with my chair. ( dun dun da) * sighs* Ah well, I need to stop wallowing in self pity and get a better self esteem blah blah . blah blah blah.
Anyways, I'm just sitting here with my hair in curlers doing my nails. ( yes, I'm really that bored. Although I hate saying that I'm bored. A bored person is a boring person.) Looking up cheats for my Van Helsing game. Sorta sad that I have to look up cheats for it. It's quite direct when it comes to what you have to do. I'm just lacking any kind of skills it takes to conquer a simple video game. In the game Van Helsing ( the character. I'm not just repeating the name of the game) can lose his hat and you have to pick it up before you leave. Well, he lost his hat and I didn't realize it so now it's no telling where. I really liked the hat. I'm close to the part where you have to battle Dracula ( according to cheat page ) and I don't think I would be able to kill him. How can anyone not side with Dracula? He's doing the world a favor. Yep, keeping us from over populating. *looks innocent * WHat?! O K , maybe it's not alright, but I still side with him. So ha!!
Well, I gtg take out the curlers. So many people to terrorize, So little time to do it in. : D Tootles!

Eight days 'Till I Die

O K So we had to draw a number in band to day to see what order we would try out in and I got number four. There is only five of us so I have to go close to last. This will give me just enough time to have a breakdown and try to drown myself in the water fountain. * nods* Yep, there is a 80 % chance I'm going to lose my chair and........ Why I'm I posting?!! I should be practicing. No wonder I suck. : D Hehe Anyhow, I haven't watched VAn Helsing in a whole week. * tear * I've been busy doing nothing. Is it not amazing how time consuming doing nothing can be? Did I mention that I got a bunch of black shirts for Christmas. * dances around * So now I can wear all the black and red and chain jewelry I want. * coughs* Not that I'm obsessed with the colors black and red or anything. I love other colors too. Plus I have been wearing my new pants.... NO holes!! You just can't appreciate new pants until you've wore out all of the others. Well, I must be off. Things to do. Places to vandalize.

Band

It's finally that special time of year when I realize tht I need to practice my Sax. Well, I sorta put it off a little too long and now I'm starting to fear that the seventh graders are better than me. * eerie background music* So now I'm practicing constantly trying to improve before tryouts. Anyhow, I've watched Van Helsing a couple dozen times now, and it's still the best movie ever. Tootles!!

Back to School :(

Yes, I actually made it through the first day of school after Christmas vacation. Not without Algebra homework though. I finally bought the movie Van Helsing with my Christmas money and Mom got me Van Helsing the game for ps2. Yay!!! (Of Course It's the best movie ever. ) ( Don't question it.) I must go do my math. Farewell!