The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe Household Edition : with illustrations |
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KING ERIC'S TRIUMPH.
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 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
KING ERIC'S TRIUMPH.
FROM THE GERMAN OF SEIDL.
I.
At Upsala's high altar,The tallest in the land,
And bright with blazing candles,
See royal Eric stand.
And thus he speaks to Heaven,
With lifted voice and hand:
II.
“Great God! in Thy protectionWe ever safely dwell;
Who makes the Lord his refuge
Hath wisely done and well.”
And hark! the lofty anthem
The choir and organ swell.
III.
Now while the dome is soundingWith this triumphant strain,
In comes a panting courier,
“O King! the Dane! the Dane!
Skalater and his soldiers
Are pouring on the plain!”
IV.
But as on ears unheedingThe startling message fell;
King Eric still is chanting,
While choir and organ swell,
“Who makes the Lord his refuge
Hath wisely done and well!”
V.
In bursts another courier,Hot messenger of Fate,—
“The Dane! the Dane approaches!
O King, no longer wait!
Fly! seek some surer refuge;
The Dane is at the gate!”
VI.
What though a hundred voicesThe tale of terror tell?
King Eric still is chanting,
While choir and organ swell,
“Who makes the Lord his refuge
Hath wisely done and well!”
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VII.
In comes another courier,But ere his voice he found
To tell his tale of horror,
He feels a mortal wound;
Beneath a Danish sabre,
His head is on the ground.
VIII.
Then rose a fearful clamor,That drowned the Danish drums:
“With seven hundred soldiers,
The fiend, Skalater, comes!
Where now are king and country,
Our altars and our homes?”
IX.
'T was then the pious monarch(As holy books declare)
Took up the golden crucifix,
And waved it in the air,
And called upon the God of Hosts
In agonizing prayer.
X.
And from the seven sacred wounds(One for each bleeding gash
That in his death the Saviour bore)
Came forth a blinding flash;
In splendor full a hundred-fold,
The heathen to abash.
XI.
Whereat seven hundred Danish menIn humble worship fell;
While Eric and his people all
The solemn anthem swell,
“Who makes the Lord his refuge
Hath wisely done and well!”
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |