The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe Household Edition : with illustrations |
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THE TWO CHURCH-BUILDERS
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 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
THE TWO CHURCH-BUILDERS
AN ITALIAN LEGEND.
A famous king would build a church,
A temple vast and grand;
And, that the praise might be his own,
He gave a strict command
That none should add the smallest gift
To aid the work he planned.
A temple vast and grand;
And, that the praise might be his own,
He gave a strict command
That none should add the smallest gift
To aid the work he planned.
And when the mighty dome was done,
Within the noble frame,
Upon a tablet broad and fair,
In letters all aflame
With burnished gold, the people read
The royal builder's name.
Within the noble frame,
Upon a tablet broad and fair,
In letters all aflame
With burnished gold, the people read
The royal builder's name.
Now when the King, elate with pride,
That night had sought his bed,
He dreamed he saw an angel come
(A halo round his head),
Erase the royal name, and write
Another in its stead.
That night had sought his bed,
He dreamed he saw an angel come
(A halo round his head),
Erase the royal name, and write
Another in its stead.
What could it mean? Three times that night
That wondrous vision came;
Three times he saw that angel hand
Erase the royal name,
And write a woman's in its stead,
In letters all aflame.
That wondrous vision came;
Three times he saw that angel hand
Erase the royal name,
And write a woman's in its stead,
In letters all aflame.
Whose could it be? He gave command
To all about his throne
To seek the owner of the name
That on the tablet shone;
And so it was the courtiers found
A widow poor and lone.
To all about his throne
To seek the owner of the name
That on the tablet shone;
And so it was the courtiers found
A widow poor and lone.
The King, enraged at what he heard,
Cried, “Bring the culprit here!”
And to the woman trembling sore
He said, “'T is very clear
That you have broken my command;
Now let the truth appear!”
Cried, “Bring the culprit here!”
And to the woman trembling sore
He said, “'T is very clear
That you have broken my command;
Now let the truth appear!”
“Your Majesty,” the Widow said,
“I can't deny the truth;
I love the Lord,—my Lord and yours,—
And so, in simple sooth,
I broke your Majesty's command
(I crave your royal ruth!)
“I can't deny the truth;
I love the Lord,—my Lord and yours,—
And so, in simple sooth,
I broke your Majesty's command
(I crave your royal ruth!)
“And since I had no money, Sire,
Why, I could only pray
That God would bless your Majesty;
And when along the way
The horses drew the stones, I gave
To one a wisp of hay!”
Why, I could only pray
182
And when along the way
The horses drew the stones, I gave
To one a wisp of hay!”
“Ah! now I see,” the King exclaimed,
“Self-glory was my aim;
The woman gave for love of God,
And not for worldly fame;
'T is my command the tablet bear
The pious widow's name!”
“Self-glory was my aim;
The woman gave for love of God,
And not for worldly fame;
'T is my command the tablet bear
The pious widow's name!”
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |