Alfred An Heroic Poem, in Twenty-Four Books. By Joseph Cottle: 4th ed. |
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 | Alfred |  |
‘Thy pardon, prince! I ask,
‘And if my earnest words to thee seem harsh,
‘Again I claim forgiveness, but, my heart,
‘Thou must not question. Monarch, stay the deed!
‘Tear from thine eye the film that covers it,
‘And view the precipice, which to thee seems
‘Smooth and secure. At this most trying hour
‘It is a subject's honor, to declare,
‘With firm, yet duteous words, one rash resolve,
‘One error, one false step, may sink us now
‘In ruin irretrievable, and bring
‘Destruction on us all!’—Alfred exclaim'd,
‘Good Oddune! whence these unexpected fears?’
‘And if my earnest words to thee seem harsh,
‘Again I claim forgiveness, but, my heart,
‘Thou must not question. Monarch, stay the deed!
‘Tear from thine eye the film that covers it,
‘And view the precipice, which to thee seems
‘Smooth and secure. At this most trying hour
‘It is a subject's honor, to declare,
‘With firm, yet duteous words, one rash resolve,
‘One error, one false step, may sink us now
‘In ruin irretrievable, and bring
‘Destruction on us all!’—Alfred exclaim'd,
‘Good Oddune! whence these unexpected fears?’
| Alfred | |