Vision of Edw. Son Harold, I thy king, who came before [ford-bridge To tell thee thou should'st win at StamCome yet once more, from where 1 am at peace, Because I loved thee in my mortal day, To tell thee thou shalt die on Senlac Sanguelac! [hillVision of Wulf. O brother, from my ghastly oubliette [seas I send my voice across the narrow No more, no more, dear brother, neverSanguelac! moreVision of Tostig. O brother, most unbrotherlike to me, [life, Thou gavest thy voice against me in my I give my voice against thee from the Sanguelac! [graveVision of Norman Saints. O hapless Harold! King but for an hour! Thou swarest falsely by our blessed bones, [heaven! We give our voice against thee out of Sanguelac! Sanguelac! The arrow, the arrow ! Har. (starting up battle-axe in hand). Away! My battle-axe against your voices. Peace! [shall die The king's last word-'the arrow!' I 1 die for England then, who lived for England What nobler? men must die. I have done no man wrong. Tostig, [poor brother, Fain had I kept thine earldom in thy hands [wrench'd Save for thy wild and violent will that All hearts of freemen from thee. I could do No other than this way advise the king Against the race of Godwin. Is it possible [earthly hates That mortal men should bear their Into yon bloodless world, and threaten us thence [art revengedUnschool'd of Death! Thus then thou 1 left our England naked to the South To meet thee in the North. The Norseman's raid [of Godwin Kath helpt the Norman, and the race Lath ruin'd Godwin. No-our waking thoughts [pools Euffer a stormless shipwreck in the Of sullen slumber, and arise again Lisjointed only dreams-where mine [a spark Takes part against myself! Why? For Of self-disdain born in me when I sware Falsely to him, the falser Norman, over His gilded ark of mummy-saints, by own self whom I knew not that I sware,-not for my For England-yet not wholly- [selfEnter Edith. Edith, Edith, Get thou into my cloister as the king Will'd it be safe: the perjury-mongering Count Hath made too good an use of Holy Church To break her close! There the great God of truth [ing devil Fill all thine hours with peace!-A lyHath haunted me-mine oath-my wife -I fain [could not: Had made my marriage not a lie; I Thou art my bride! and thou in after years [mine Praying perchance for this poor soul of In cold, white cells beneath an icy [England, This memory to thee !-and this to My legacy of war against the Pope From child to child, from Pope to moon Pope, from age to age, [shores, Till the sea wash her level with her Or till the Pope be Christ's. Havo thy two brethren sent their forces in ? Ald. Nay, I fear not. ear Har. Then there's no force in thee! Thou didst possess thyself of Edward's [loved! To part me from the woman that I Thou didst arouse the fierce Northumbrians! [to me !Thou hast been false to England an As... in some sort... I have bee [sides-Go Leave me. No more-Pardon on both Ald. Alas, my lord, I loved thee. Har. (bitterly). With a love Passing thy love for Griffyth! wherefore now [Go! false to thee. Obey my first and last commandment. Ald. O Harold! husband! Shall wo meet again? [tle. Go. Har. After the battle-after the batAld. I go. (Aside.) That I could stab her standing there! [Exit Aldwyth. Edith. Alas, my lord, she loved thee. Har. Never! never! Edith. I saw it in her eyes! Har. I see it in thine. And not on thee-nor England-fall God's doom! Edith. On thee? on me. And thou [England art England! Alfred Was England. Ethelred was nothing. Is but her king, and thou art Harold? Har. Edith, land? slain, [war, [arms Whose life was all one battle, incarnate Their giant-king, a mightier man-inThan William. Har. Ay, my girl, no tricks in himNo bastard he! when all was lost, he yell'd, [ground, And bit his shield, and dash'd it on the And swaying his two-handed sword [upon us Two deaths at every swing, ran in And died so, and I loved him as I hate This liar who made me liar. If Hate can kill, [axeAnd Loathing wield a Saxon battleEdith. Waste not thy might before the battle! about him. Spear into pruning-hook-the counter way Cowl, helm; and crozier, battle-axe. And see thee safe from Senlar. I rema'n! Stig. Yea, so will I, daughter, until I find [see is Which way the battle balance. I can From where we stand; and, live or die, I would I were among them? Canons from Waltham (singing with out). Salva patriam, Sancte Pater, Salva Fili, Salva Spiritus, Salva patriam, Sancta Mater.* Edith. Are those the blessed angels quiring, father? wall of shields Stig. No, daughter, but the canons out of Waltham, [low'd him. The king's foundation, that have folEdith. O God of battles, make their [isades! Firm as thy cliffs, strengthen their palWhat is that whirring sound? Stig. The Norman arrow! Edith. Look out upon the battle-i3 he safe? [between his banners. Stig. The king of England stand He glitters on the crowning of the hill. God save king Harold! Edith. -chosen by his people His brand in air and catches it again, [heads About the summit of the hill, and And arms are sliver'd off and splinter'd by [Norman flies. Their lightning-and they fly - the Edith. Stigand, O father, have we won the day? [behind the horseStig. No, daughter, no- -they fall Their hose are thronging to the barricades; I see the gonfanon of Holy Peter Floating above their helmets-ha! he is down! Edith. He down! Who down? Sig. No, no, he hath risen again he bares his face- [all their horse Shouts something-he points onwardSwallow the hill locust-like, swarming up. [battle-axe keen Edith. O God of battles, make his 23 thine own sharp-dividing justice, heavy [ful heads As thine own bolts that fall on crimeCharged with the weight of heaven wherefrom they fall! Canons (singing). Jacta tonitrua Deus bellator! Surgas e tenebris, Ye that are now of heaven, and see Your Norman shrines, pardon it, pardon it, [loved, That he forsware himself for all ho Me, me and all! Look out upon the battle! [barricades. Stig. They thunder again upon the My sight is eagle, but the strife so thick[hold, willow! This is the Lottest of it: Lold, ach! Eng. cries. Out, out! Nor. cries. Ia Rou! Stig. Ha! Gurth hath leapt upon him. And slain him: he hath fallen. Be weakened in thy sight, because I love The husband of another! Nor. cries. Ha Rou! Edith (cries ou). Harold and Holy Nor, cries Ha Rou! Ha Ron! Edith. What is that whirring sound? Stig. The Norman sends his arrows up to Heaven, They fall on those within the palisade! Llith. Look out upon the hill-is Harold there? Stig. Sanguelac-Sanguelac-the arrow the arrow!-away! SCENE II.-Field of the dead. Night. Aldwyth and Edith. Ald. O Edith, art thou here? O Harold, Harold[more. Our Harold-we shall never see him Edith. For there was more than sister in my kiss, [not love them, And so the saints were wroth. 1 canFor they are Norman saints - and yet I should They are so much holier than their harlot's son With whom they play'd their game against the king! Ald. The king is slain, the kingdom overthrown! Edith. No matter! Ald. How no matter, Harold slain? -I cannot find his body. O help me thou! O Edith, if I ever wrought against thee, I am seeking one who wedded me in Whisper! God's angels only know it. What art thou doing here among the dead? [naked yonder, They are stripping the dead bodies And thou art come to rob them of their rings! Ald. O Edith, Edith, I have lost both some (To Malet.) Knowest thou this other? Malet. When I visited England, Some held she was his wife in secret[mour. Well-some believed she was his paraEdith. Norman, thou liest ! liars all of you, [and sheYour Saints and all! I am his wife! For look, our marriage ring! [She draws it off the finger of Harold. I lost it somehow I lost it, playing with it when I was wild. That bred the doubt! but I am wiser now... I am too wise.. Will none among you all Bear me true witness-only for this once That I have found it here again? Thy wife am I for ever and evermore. The day of St. Calixtus, and the day, Malet. 'Harold,' Before he fell into the snare of Guy; When all men counted Harold would be king, And Harold was most happy. Will. Thou art half English. Take them away! Malet, I vow to build a church to God How shall I part them? [rior, A Christian burial: yet he was a warAnd wise, yca truthful, till that blighted vow ay, And but that IIoly Peter fought for us, And save for that chance arrow which [ct and, pray God To grasp the world with, and a foot to stamp it. Flat. Praise the Saints. It is over. No more blood! I am king of England, so they thwart me not, And I will rule according to their laws. (To Aldwyth.) Madam, we will entreat thee with all hanor. Ald. My punishment is more than I can bear. I. "THE REVENGE.' A BALLAD OF THE FLEET. AT Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay, And a pinnace like a flutter'd bird, came flying from far away; 'Spanish ships of war at sea! we have Then sware Lord Thomas Howard: "Fore But I cannot meet them here, for my ships are out of gear, And the half my men are sick. I must fly, but follow quick. We are six ships of the line; can we fight with fifty-three?' II. You fly them for a moment to fight with them again. But I've ninety men and more that are I should count myself the coward if I left III. So Lord Howard past away with five ships But Sir Richard bore in hand all his sick Then spake Sir Richard Grenville: 'I Very carefully and slow, know you are no coward; Men of Bideford in Devon, |