Songs of A Wayfarer By William Davies |
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| LXI. | LXI. THE LOVE-LORN KING. |
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 | Songs of A Wayfarer |  |
LXI. THE LOVE-LORN KING.
In days of old there lived a widowed king
Who loved a maiden very fair to see,
But of a low degree:
And yet he loved her more than aught beside.
Who loved a maiden very fair to see,
But of a low degree:
And yet he loved her more than aught beside.
His barons and his courtiers long time tried
To quench his doting passion; but in vain;
For still it grew amain,
Increasing day by day; until, at last,
To quench his doting passion; but in vain;
For still it grew amain,
Increasing day by day; until, at last,
She died. But not his love: though life was past
That still continued: so he caused that she
With spice embalmed should be,
And dressed in gorgeous robes of silk and fur.
That still continued: so he caused that she
With spice embalmed should be,
And dressed in gorgeous robes of silk and fur.
And every day the king did go to her,
And kissed her sadly, crying in this wise:
O maiden whose sweet eyes
Were all my life, why is their clear light fled?
And kissed her sadly, crying in this wise:
O maiden whose sweet eyes
Were all my life, why is their clear light fled?
Why are those lilies and those roses dead
Which were my springtime and my summer too?
Alas, that death should do
His work on thee and leave me here to mourn!
Which were my springtime and my summer too?
Alas, that death should do
His work on thee and leave me here to mourn!
58
Now when the king his sorrow long had borne,
Leaving his rule and rank without a thought,
One of his courtiers sought
An ancient sage who dwelt within a grove,
Leaving his rule and rank without a thought,
One of his courtiers sought
An ancient sage who dwelt within a grove,
And told him of the king, and how his love
Had all unkinged him. Then the sage with book
And magic rite did look
Into the wormy kingdom of the dead.
Had all unkinged him. Then the sage with book
And magic rite did look
Into the wormy kingdom of the dead.
Go back, and ope the maiden's mouth, he said,
And you shall find beneath her tongue a ring:
Take it; and so the king,
When this is done, shall be restored again.
And you shall find beneath her tongue a ring:
Take it; and so the king,
When this is done, shall be restored again.
The courtier went and took the ring; and when
The king looked on her whom he loved so late
His love was changed to hate;
So that they took the maid and buried her.
The king looked on her whom he loved so late
His love was changed to hate;
So that they took the maid and buried her.
But all his love that moment did transfer
To him who held the ring; until, one day,
In passing where there lay
A marshy swamp, he threw away the thing.
To him who held the ring; until, one day,
In passing where there lay
A marshy swamp, he threw away the thing.
Now after many days it chanced the king,
Hunting when June was shining bright and hot,
Came to that very spot;
And paused to rest, sitting upon a stone.
Hunting when June was shining bright and hot,
Came to that very spot;
And paused to rest, sitting upon a stone.
But when he rose refreshed and would have gone,
It seemed as though the place were far more fair
And had a sweeter air
Than fabled regions of enchanted ground.
It seemed as though the place were far more fair
And had a sweeter air
Than fabled regions of enchanted ground.
59
Thither he came from time to time and found
Strange pleasure by the marshy pools, and lay
Upon the sward all day,
Rapt in a vague delight beyond compare.
Strange pleasure by the marshy pools, and lay
Upon the sward all day,
Rapt in a vague delight beyond compare.
So that he bid his builders raise him there
A lordly marble palace, vast and grand,
The wonder of the land:
And soon a busy city grew beside.
A lordly marble palace, vast and grand,
The wonder of the land:
And soon a busy city grew beside.
Loaded with years at length the monarch died:
But still the city flourished; and, 'tis said,
That he who there should wed
Will never through his life that wedding rue;
And she who finds a spouse there finds him true.
But still the city flourished; and, 'tis said,
That he who there should wed
Will never through his life that wedding rue;
And she who finds a spouse there finds him true.
| Songs of A Wayfarer | |