Page:The Galaxy, Volume 5.djvu/704

680 To a poor pretender, mean and base,
 * Unfit for place or sway:

That was the work of glamour and spell,
 * And the charm in a moment fled,

As the sceptre from his weak hand fell,
 * And the crown from his feeble head.

But homage true, at last I bring
 * To one of a royal line—

''The King is dead! long live the King''!!" [sic]
 * Said the Lady Jacqueline.

And yet it almost makes me weep;
 * Aye! weep, and cry, alas!

When I think of one who lies asleep
 * Down under the quiet grass;

For he loved me well, and I loved again,
 * And low in homage bent,

And prayed for his long and prosperous reign,
 * In our realm of sweet content.

But not to the dead may the living cling,
 * Nor kneel at an empty shrine;—

''The King is dead! long live the King!''"
 * Said the Lady Jacqueline.

By the one I held most true and dear.
 * And called my lord, my own!

I was set aside in a single year.
 * And a new queen shares his throne.

To him who is false, and him who is wed.
 * Shall I give my fealty?

Nay, the dead one is not half so dead
 * As the false one is, to me:

My faith to the faithful now I bring,
 * And the faithless I resign—

''The King is dead! long live the King!''"
 * Said the Lady Jaqueline.

Yea! all my lovers and kings that were,
 * Are dead and hid away;

In the past, as in a supulchre.
 * Shut up till the judgment day.

False or fickle, or weak or wed,
 * They are all alike to me;

For the eyes no more may be misled,
 * That have looked on royalty!

Then bring me wine, and garlands bring,
 * For my King of the right divine—

''The King is dead! long live the King!''"
 * Said the Lady Jaqueline.