Down from his Poney jumped the Elf,
When, lo! the Poney disappeared;
And now the Goblin Groom himself
Has ta’en the brush, the hounds has cheered;
Has bowed his head to Chiviot gray,
And vanished from the light of day:
And when the distanced horsemen neared
The bloody scene on Flodden’s plain,
No vestige of the Elf appeared;
The Poney too, was sought in vain.
Loud howled each hound; I will presume
They howled at loss of Goblin Groom;
And well they might, for such a fay
Ne’er rode before on hunting day;
And hounds, like ladies fair, I’m told,
Dote on the daring and the bold;
And than the Goblin, we’ll agree,
A bolder there could never be.