Familiar Songs - Their Authors & Histories

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	THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.	299
	THE MISTLETOE BOUGH. Thomas HaYnes Bayly's pathetic song of " The Mistletoe Bough," was founded upon a story which is embodied in the " Italy" of Samuel Rogers. The story runs that Ginevra, a beautiful girl of illustrious parentage, was wedded to a noble youth. Guests had assembled for the marriage-feast, when some one whispered that the bride was missing, and a boding thrill ran through the company. All search for her was fruitless. A few weeks afterward, the heart-broken husband was killed in battle, in a self-sought encounter, while the lonely and grey-haired father was seen, year after year, seeking for his long-lost child. One day, after his death, a girl, as young and thoughtless as the bride had been, roaming through the musty galleries of the castle, came upon a carved and massive chest. " Let's draw it out," said she, gaily. She touched its side, when lo! it crumbled and fell wide apart, and with it fell what had once been life and beauty. Amid the ruin shone bright jewels, a wedding ring, and a small seal inscribed " Ginevra."