 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
GREAT KING WILLIAM.
I
Great King William spread before himAll his stores of wealth untold,
Diamonds, emeralds, and rubies,
Heaps on heaps of minted gold.
Mournfully he gazed upon it
As it glitter'd in the sun,
Sighing to himself, “Oh treasure!
“Held in care, by sorrow won;
53
“But, alas! before me piled,
“I would give thee ten times over
“For the slumbers of a child.”
II
Great King William from his turretHeard the martial trumpets blow,
Saw the crimson banners floating
Of a countless host below;
Saw their weapons flash in sunlight,
As the squadrons trod the sward;
And he sigh'd “Oh! mighty army,
“Hear thy miserable lord:
“At my word thy legions gather—
“At my nod thy captains bend—
“But, with all thy power and splendour,
“I would give thee for a friend!”
III
Great King William stood on Windsor,Looking from its castled height
O'er his wide-spread realm of England,
Glittering in the morning light;
Looking on the tranquil river
And the forest waving free,
And he sigh'd, “Oh! land of beauty,
“Fondled by the circling sea,
“Mine thou art, but I would yield thee,
“And be happy, could I gain,
“In exchange, a peasant's garden
“And a conscience free from stain.”
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |