Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs By Walter Thornbury. Illustrated by J. Whistler, F. Walker, John Tenniel, J. D. Watson, W. Small, F. Sandys, G. J. Pinwell, T. Morten, M. J. Lawless, and many others |
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The Court Historian.
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 | Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs |  |
64
The Court Historian.
LOWER EMPIRE, CIRCA 700 A.D.
The monk Arnulphus uncorked his ink,
That shone with a blood-red light,
Just as the sun began to sink;
His vellum was pumiced a silvery white:
“The Basileus”—for so he began—
“Is a royal sagacious Mars of a man,
Than the very lion bolder;
He has married the stately widow of Thrace”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
That shone with a blood-red light,
Just as the sun began to sink;
His vellum was pumiced a silvery white:
“The Basileus”—for so he began—
“Is a royal sagacious Mars of a man,
Than the very lion bolder;
He has married the stately widow of Thrace”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
His palette gleamed with a burnished green,
Bright as a dragon-fly's skin;
His gold-leaf shone like the robe of a queen;
His azure glowed as a cloud worn thin,
Deep as the blue of the king-whale's lair:
“The Porphyrogenita Zoe the fair
Is about to wed with a prince much older,
Of an unpropitious mien and look”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
Bright as a dragon-fly's skin;
His gold-leaf shone like the robe of a queen;
His azure glowed as a cloud worn thin,
Deep as the blue of the king-whale's lair:
“The Porphyrogenita Zoe the fair
Is about to wed with a prince much older,
Of an unpropitious mien and look”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
The red flowers trellised the parchment page,
The birds leaped up on the spray,
The yellow fruit swayed and drooped and swung;
It was Autumn mixed up with May.
(O but his cheek was shrivelled and shrunk!)
“The child of the Basileus,” wrote the monk,
“Is golden-haired, tender, the queen's arms fold her,
Her step-mother Zoe doth love her so”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
The birds leaped up on the spray,
The yellow fruit swayed and drooped and swung;
It was Autumn mixed up with May.
(O but his cheek was shrivelled and shrunk!)
“The child of the Basileus,” wrote the monk,
“Is golden-haired, tender, the queen's arms fold her,
Her step-mother Zoe doth love her so”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
The kings and martyrs and saints and priests
All gathered to guard the text:
There was Daniel snug in the lions' den,
Singing, no whit perplexed;
Brazen Samson with spear and helm:—
“The queen,” wrote the monk, “rules firm the realm,
For the king gets older and older;
The Norseman Thorkill is brave and fair”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
All gathered to guard the text:
There was Daniel snug in the lions' den,
Singing, no whit perplexed;
Brazen Samson with spear and helm:—
“The queen,” wrote the monk, “rules firm the realm,
For the king gets older and older;
The Norseman Thorkill is brave and fair”—
“Hush!” cried a voice at his shoulder.
| Historical & Legendary Ballads & Songs | |