 | Interludes and Undertones, or, Music at Twilight |  |
123
XCIV. A ROYAL GRIEVANCE.
Once in my dreams I was a king,
Great, powerful, and adored,
Wise in the council, gay in hall,
And mighty with the sword.
But as it happens among kings,
And smaller folk than they,
There was a bitter in my cup,
A shadow on my day.
Great, powerful, and adored,
Wise in the council, gay in hall,
And mighty with the sword.
But as it happens among kings,
And smaller folk than they,
There was a bitter in my cup,
A shadow on my day.
Fate had decreed that if I smiled
I'd be my people's scoff,
That if I dared to scratch myself
My crown would topple off;
That if a servant or a friend
Should scratch me in my stead,
Worse doom would fall with double strength
On my devoted head.
I'd be my people's scoff,
That if I dared to scratch myself
My crown would topple off;
That if a servant or a friend
Should scratch me in my stead,
Worse doom would fall with double strength
On my devoted head.
Great were my sufferings! All my joys
Diminished one by one,
I thought myself the veriest wretch
That crawled beneath the sun.
At length I cried, “I'll be no king,
At penalty like this!”
I laughed, I scratched, and woke once more
To liberty and bliss!
Diminished one by one,
I thought myself the veriest wretch
That crawled beneath the sun.
124
At penalty like this!”
I laughed, I scratched, and woke once more
To liberty and bliss!
| Interludes and Undertones, or, Music at Twilight | |