Page:Bohemian legends and other poems.djvu/62



There was a time when the Bohemian land
 * Was known and honored, throughout the wide world’s length,

For mighty warriors and heroic men
 * Her name was honored, bravery was her strength.

There was an age when every one was proud
 * To call himself a son of that fair land,

Where every art was known and learning prized;
 * And praise was given to the skillful hand.

There was an age when the Bohemian tongue
 * Was spoken from the throne in accents clear;

Divinest harmony, their native speech,
 * In palace homes was spoken far and near.

That time, Bohemian men were proud to say
 * They were Bohemians, sons of that brave land,

Where the dread lion was their coat-of-arms,
 * And wealth and plenty smiled upon the land.

Then the times changed, misfortune came apace,
 * And they forgot that which they once had been.

Indifference, lethargy, upon them crept,
 * They thought no more, they lived as in a dream.

Bohemian hearts grew cold, their native land
 * They loved no more, forgotten was their pride—

Forgotten were the deeds their fathers did—
 * They were not worthy to sleep by their side.