Alfred An Heroic Poem, in Twenty-Four Books. By Joseph Cottle: 4th ed. |
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| XXI. |
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 | Alfred |  |
While hast'ning toward his followers, Alfred sees
Far thro' the trees—that melancholy man—
Sigbert, with solemn step, the woods among,
Restless as wandering Jew Sigbert perceived
Alfred, and rush'd to meet him. Thus he cried,
‘My long-lost prince! my master! have I found
‘Thee, Alfred! oh my king? Thy fearful frown
‘At any other moment I might shun,
‘Yet now I heed it not, to see again
‘My long-lost lord.’—Alfred remember'd well
His former anger, but, the sudden joy
From certainty that he was yet a king,
So fill'd his mind, that he forgot the past,
And, wistless what he said, cried, ‘Peace be thine!’
Sigbert then spake: ‘My master, pardon me!
‘And with my weakness bear a little space,
‘That I may tell my grief. To name the pain
‘This breast hath felt, since thou didst bid me go
‘An outcast and a murd'rer, I would fain
‘But cannot. Oh, my king, this heart is sad!
‘I, from a guilty conscience have endured
‘Anguish so terrible and past the power
‘Of words to tell, that how a heart should bear
‘A load so vast, I knew not till this hour.
‘Pardon me, monarch!’—
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Sigbert, with solemn step, the woods among,
Restless as wandering Jew Sigbert perceived
Alfred, and rush'd to meet him. Thus he cried,
‘My long-lost prince! my master! have I found
‘Thee, Alfred! oh my king? Thy fearful frown
‘At any other moment I might shun,
‘Yet now I heed it not, to see again
‘My long-lost lord.’—Alfred remember'd well
His former anger, but, the sudden joy
From certainty that he was yet a king,
So fill'd his mind, that he forgot the past,
And, wistless what he said, cried, ‘Peace be thine!’
Sigbert then spake: ‘My master, pardon me!
‘And with my weakness bear a little space,
‘That I may tell my grief. To name the pain
‘This breast hath felt, since thou didst bid me go
‘An outcast and a murd'rer, I would fain
‘But cannot. Oh, my king, this heart is sad!
‘I, from a guilty conscience have endured
‘Anguish so terrible and past the power
‘Of words to tell, that how a heart should bear
‘A load so vast, I knew not till this hour.
‘Pardon me, monarch!’—
| Alfred | |