beware,
Nor do ... 1815.

[167] 1837.

Which ... 1815.

[168] 1820.

... with a Warrior's brow 1815.

[169] 1845.

... had snatched
A spear,--and with his eyes he watched
Their motions, turning round and round:--
His weaker hand the Banner held;
And straight by savage zeal impelled
Forth rushed a Pikeman, as if he,
Not without harsh indignity,
Would seize the same:--instinctively--
To smite the Offender--with his lance
Did Francis from the brake advance;
But, from behind, a treacherous wound
Unfeeling, brought him to the ground,
A mortal stroke:--oh, grief to tell!
Thus, thus, the noble Francis fell:
There did he lie of breath forsaken;
The Banner from his grasp was taken,
And borne exultingly away;
And the Body was left on the ground where it lay. 1815.

But not before the warm life-blood
Had tinged with searching overflow,
More deeply tinged the embroidered show
Of His whose side was pierced upon the Rood! 1837.

The text of 1837 is otherwise identical with the final version of
1845.

[170] These two lines were added in 1837.

[171] 1837.

Two days, as many nights, he slept
Alone, unnoticed, and unwept;
For at that time distress and fear
Possessed the Country far and near;
The third day, One, who chanced to pass,
Beheld him stretched upon the grass.
A gentle Forester was he,
And of the Norton Tenantry;
And he had heard that by a Train
Of Horsemen Francis had been slain.
Much was he troubled--for the Man
Hath recognized his pallid face;
And to the nearest Huts he ran,
And called the People to the place.
--How desolate is Rylstone-hall!
Such was the instant thought of all;
And if the lonely Lady there
Should be, this sight she cannot bear!
Such thought the Forester express'd,
And all were swayed, and deemed it best
That, if the Priest should yield assent
And join himself to their intent, 1815.

[172] 1837.

That straightway ... 1815.

[173] 1840.

... on a bier
In decency and humble chear;