Page:The poems of Edmund Clarence Stedman, 1908.djvu/442

VARIOUS POEMS Shall they scour the Netherland,

Nevermore the outlaws harass;

Naught is left of his array

Save a barren territory;

Forty years of generous sway

Sped his princely hoards away,

Bartered all his gold for glory.

Forth steps Flemish Margaret then,

Striding toward the silent ashes;

And the eyes of armèd men

Fill with startled wonder, when

On the bier her girdle clashes!

Swift she drew it from her waist,

And the purse and keys it carried

On the ducal coffin placed;

Then with proud demeanor faced

Sword and shield of him she married.

"No encumbrance of the dead

Must the living clog forever;

From thy debts and dues," she said,

"From the liens of thy bed,

We this day our line dissever.

"From thy hand we gain release,

Know all present by this token!

Let the dead repose in peace,

Let the claims upon us cease

When the ties that bound are broken.

"Philip, we have loved thee long,

But, in years of future splendor,

Burgundy shall count among

Bravest deeds of tale and song

This, our widowhood's surrender."

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