The Boy's Percy Author:Sidney Lanier Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Thus said, "Lord, we beseech thee here, That ye will grant us grace, For we have slain your fat fallow deer In many a sundry place." "What be your name... more »s?" then said our king, "Anon that you tell me ; " They said, " Adarn Bell, Clym of the Clough, And William of Cloudesly." "Be ye those thieves," then said our king, "That men have told of to me ? Here to God I make an avow, Ye shall be hanged all three. Ye shall be dead without mercy, As I am king of this land." He commanded his officers everyone Fast on them to lay hand. There they took these good yeomen, And arrested them all three : "So may I thrive," said Adam Bell, "This game liketh not me. But good Lord, we beseech you now, That ye grant us grace. In so much as we do to you come, Or else that we may from you pass, With such weapons as we have here, Till we be out of your place; And if we live this hundred year, We will ask you no grace." "Ye speak proudly," said the king, "Ye shall be hanged all three." "That were great pity," then said the queen, "If any grace might be. My Lord, when I came first into this land, To be your wedded wife, The first boon that I would ask, Ye would grant it me belyfe ;1 And I never asked none till now, Therefore, good Lord, grant it me." "Now ask it madam," said the king, "And granted it shall be." 1 [Immediately.] "Then, good my Lord, I you beseech, These yeomen grant ye me." "Madam ye might have asked a boon That should have been worth all three. Ye might have asked towers and towns, Parks and forests plenty." "None so pleasant to my pay,"1 she said; "Nor none so lief2 to me." "Madam, since it is your desire, Your asking granted shall be ; But I had liever given you Good market towns three." ...« less