No nymph my heart can wound
If favor she divide,
And smiles on all around
Unwilling to decide;
I'd rather hatred bear,
Than love with others share."


Edward I had a harper in his train, in his crusade to the Holy Land, who
stood by his side in battle.

That same king in his conquest of Wales is said to have murdered all the
bards that fell into his hands lest they should rouse the nation again
to arms. Gray's poem, "The Bard," was written upon that theme. I will
quote a few lines:


"Dear lost companions of my tuneful art,
Dear as the light that visits these eyes,
Dear as the ruddy drops that warm my heart,
Ye died amidst your dying country's cries--
No more I weep. They do not sleep.
On yonder cliffs a griesly band,
I see them sit; they linger yet,
Avengers of their native land."


That the minstrel was a privileged character in England down to the
reign of Elizabeth is proved by history, by frequent allusions to them
in the current literature of the times, and by the large body of songs,