Page:The poems of Edmund Clarence Stedman, 1908.djvu/300

THE BLAMELESS PRINCE He put that yester romance from his mind

So readily. Men's lives, like oceans, change

In shifting tides, and ebb from either shore

Till the strong planet draws them on once more.

as a pilgrim, shielded by the wings

Of some bright angel, crosses perilous ground,

Through unknown ways, and, while she leads and sings,

Forgets the past, nor sees what pits surround

His footsteps, so the young Prince cast away

That self-distrust, and with his sovereign May

The gladness joined, and with her sat in state

Beneath the ancient scutcheons of her throne,

And welcome gave, and led the revels late;

But when the still and midnight heavens shone

They fled the masquers, and the city's hum

Was silent, and the palace halls grew dumb,

And Love and Sleep in that serene eclipse

Moved, making prince and clown of one degree,

Then was she all his own; then from her lips

He learned with what a sweet humility

She, whose least word a spacious kingdom ruled,

In Love's free vassalage would fain be schooled.

How poor, she said, her sovereignty seemed,

Unless it made her richer in his eye!

And poor his life, until her sunlight beamed

Upon it, said the Prince. So months went by;

They were a gracious pair; the Queen was glad;

Peace smiled, and the wide land contentment had.

And for a time the courteous welcome paid

The chosen consort, and the people's joy 270