Thinkthat a hundred years have now passed by,Since ye beheld Ogier lie down to dieBeside the fountain; think that now ye areIn France, made dangerous with wasting war;In Paris, where about each guarded gate,Gathered in knots, the anxious people wait,And press around each new-come man to learnIf Harfleur now the pagan wasters burn,Or if the Rouen folk can keep their chain,Or Pont de l'Arche unburnt still guards the Seine?Or if 'tis true that Andelys succour wants?That Vernon's folk are fleeing east to Mantes?When will they come? or rather is it trueThat a great band the Constable o'erthrewUpon the marshes of the lower Seine,And that their long-ships, turning back again,Caught by the high-raised waters of the boreWere driven here and there and cast ashore?Such questions did they ask, and, as fresh menCame hurrying in, they asked them o'er again,And from scared folk, or fools, or ignorant,Still got new lies, or tidings very scant.But now amidst these men at last came one,A little ere the setting of the sun,With two stout men behind him, armed right well,Who ever as they rode on, sooth to tell,With doubtful eyes upon their master stared,Or looked about like troubled men and scared.And he they served was noteworthy indeed;Of ancient fashion were his arms and weed,Rich past the wont of men in those sad times;His face was bronzed, as though by burning climes,But lovely as the image of a godCarved in the days before on earth Christ trod;But solemn were his eyes, and grey as glass,And like to ruddy gold his fine hair was:A mighty man he was, and taller farThan those who on that day must bear the warThe pagans waged: he by the warders stayedScarce looked on them, but straight their words obeyedAnd showed his pass; then, asked about his nameAnd from what city of the world he came,Said, that men called him now the Ancient Knight,That he was come midst the king's men to fightFrom St. Omer's; and as he spoke, he gazedDown on the thronging street as one amazed,And answered no more to the questioningOf frightened folk of this or that sad thing;But, ere he passed on, turned about at lastAnd on the wondering guard a strange look cast,And said, "St. Mary! do such men as yeFight with the wasters from across the sea?Then, certes, are ye lost, however goodYour hearts may be; not such were those who stoodBeside the Hammer-bearer years agone."So said he, and as his fair armour shoneWith beauty of a time long passed away,So with the music of another dayHis deep voice thrilled the awe-struck, listening folk.Yet from the crowd a mocking voice outbroke,That cried, "Be merry, masters, fear ye nought,Surely good succour to our side is brought;For here is Charlemaine come off his tombTo save his faithful city from its doom.""Yea," said another, "this is certain news,Surely ye know how all the carvers useTo carve the dead man's image at the best,That guards the place where he may lie at rest;Wherefore this living image looks indeed,Spite of his ancient tongue and marvellous weed,To have but thirty summers."At the nameOf Charlemaine, he turned to whence there cameThe mocking voice, and somewhat knit his brow,And seemed as he would speak, but scarce knew how;So with a half-sigh soon sank back againInto his dream, and shook his well-wrought rein,And silently went on upon his way.And this was Ogier: on what evil dayHas he then stumbled, that he needs must come,Midst war and ravage, to the ancient homeOf his desires? did he grow weary then,And wish to strive once more with foolish menFor worthless things? or is fair AvallonSunk in the sea, and all that glory gone?Nay, thus it happed—One day she came to himAnd said, "Ogier, thy name is waxing dimUpon the world that thou rememberest not;The heathen men are thick on many a spotThine eyes have seen, and which I love therefore;And God will give His wonted help no more.Wilt thou, then, help? canst thou have any mindTo give thy banner once more to the wind?Since greater glory thou shalt win for thisThan erst thou gatheredst ere thou cam'st to bliss:For men are dwindled both in heart and frame,Nor holds the fair land any such a nameAs thine, when thou wert living midst thy peers;The world is worser for these hundred years."From his calm eyes there gleamed a little fire,And in his voice was something of desire,To see the land where he was used to be,As now he answered: "Nay, choose thou for me,Thou art the wisest; it is more than wellWithin this peaceful place with thee to dwell:Nor ill perchance in that old land to die,If, dying, I keep not the memoryOf this fair life of ours." "Nay, nay," said she,"As to thy dying, that shall never be,Whiles that thou keep'st my ring—and now, behold,I take from thee thy charmed crown of gold,And thou wilt be the Ogier that thou wastEre on the loadstone rock thy ship was cast:Yet thou shalt have thy youthful body still,And I will guard thy life from every ill."So was it done, and Ogier, armed right well,Sleeping, was borne away by some strong spell,And set upon the Flemish coast; and thenceTurned to St. Omer's, with a doubtful senseOf being in some wild dream, the while he knewThat great delight forgotten was his due,That all which there might hap was of small worth.So on he went, and sometimes unto mirthDid his attire move the country-folk,But oftener when strange speeches from him brokeConcerning men and things for long years dead,He filled the listeners with great awe and dread;For in such wild times as these people wereAre men soon moved to wonder and to fear.Now through the streets of Paris did he ride,And at a certain hostel did abideThroughout that night, and ere he went next dayHe saw a book that on a table lay,And opening it 'gan read in lazy mood:But long before it in that place he stood,Noting nought else; for it did chronicleThe deeds of men whom once he knew right well,When they were living in the flesh with him:Yea, his own deeds he saw, grown strange and dimAlready, and true stories mixed with lies,Until, with many thronging memoriesOf those old days, his heart was so oppressed,He 'gan to wish that he might lie at rest,Forgetting all things: for indeed by thisLittle remembrance had he of the blissThat wrapped his soul in peaceful Avallon.But his changed life he needs must carry on;For ye shall know the Queen was gathering menTo send unto the good King, who as thenIn Rouen lay, beset by many a bandOf those who carried terror through the land,And still by messengers for help he prayed:Therefore a mighty muster was being made,Of weak and strong, and brave and timorous,Before the Queen anigh her royal house.So thither on this morn did Ogier turn,Some certain news about the war to learn;And when he came at last into the square,And saw the ancient palace great and fairRise up before him as in other days,And in the merry morn the bright sun's raysGlittering on gathered helms and moving spears,He 'gan to feel as in the long-past years,And his heart stirred within him. Now the QueenCame from within, right royally beseen,And took her seat beneath a canopy,With lords and captains of the war anigh;And as she came a mighty shout arose,And round about began the knights to close,Their oath of fealty to swear anew,And learn what service they had got to do.But so it was, that some their shouts must stayTo gaze at Ogier as he took his wayThrough the thronged place; and quickly too he gatUnto the place whereas the Lady sat,For men gave place unto him, fearing him:For not alone was he most huge of limb,And dangerous, but something in his face,As his calm eyes looked o'er the crowded place,Struck men with awe; and in the ancient days,When men might hope alive on gods to gaze,They would have thought, "The gods yet love our townAnd from the heavens have sent a great one down."Withal unto the throne he came so near,That he the Queen's sweet measured voice could hear;And swiftly now within him wrought the changeThat first he felt amid those faces strange;And his heart burned to taste the hurrying lifeWith such desires, such changing sweetness rife.And yet, indeed, how should he live alone,Who in the old past days such friends had known?Then he began to think of Caraheu,Of Bellicent the fair, and once more knewThe bitter pain of rent and ended love.But while with hope and vain regret he strove,He found none 'twixt him and the Queen's high seat,And, stepping forth, he knelt before her feetAnd took her hand to swear, as was the wayOf doing fealty in that ancient day,And raised his eyes to hers; as fair was sheAs any woman of the world might beFull-limbed and tall, dark-haired, from her deep eyes,The snare of fools, the ruin of the wise,Love looked unchecked; and now her dainty hand,The well-knit holder of the golden wand,Trembled in his, she cast her eyes adown,And her sweet brow was knitted to a frown,As he, the taker of such oaths of yore,Now unto her all due obedience swore,Yet gave himself no name; and now the Queen,Awed by his voice as other folk had been,Yet felt a trembling hope within her riseToo sweet to think of, and with love's surpriseHer cheek grew pale; she said, "Thy style and nameThou tellest not, nor what land of thy fameIs glad; for, certes, some land must be glad,That in its bounds her house thy mother had.""Lady," he said, "from what far land I comeI well might tell thee, but another homeHave I long dwelt in, and its name have IForgotten now, forgotten utterlyWho were my fellows, and what deeds they did;Therefore, indeed, shall my first name be hidAnd my first country; call me on this dayThe Ancient Knight, and let me go my way."He rose withal, for she her fingers fairHad drawn aback, and on him 'gan to stareAs one afeard; for something terribleWas in his speech, and that she knew right well,Who 'gan to love him, and to fear that she,Shut out by some strange deadly mystery,Should never gain from him an equal love;Yet, as from her high seat he 'gan to move,She said, "O Ancient Knight, come presently,When we have done this muster, unto me,And thou shalt have thy charge and due commandFor freeing from our foes this wretched land!"Then Ogier made his reverence and went,And somewhat could perceive of her intent;For in his heart life grew, and love with lifeGrew, and therewith, 'twixt love and fame, was strife.But, as he slowly gat him from the square,Gazing at all the people gathered there,A squire of the Queen's behind him came,And breathless, called him by his new-coined name,And bade him turn because the Queen now bade,Since by the muster long she might be stayed,That to the palace he should bring him straight,Midst sport and play her coming back to wait;Then Ogier turned, nought loath, and with him went,And to a postern-gate his steps he bent,That Ogier knew right well in days of old;Worn was it now, and the bright hues and goldUpon the shields above, with lapse of days,Were faded much: but now did Ogier gazeUpon the garden where he walked of yore,Holding the hands that he should see no more;For all was changed except the palace fair,That Charlemaine's own eyes had seen built thereEre Ogier knew him; there the squire did leadThe Ancient Knight, who still took little heedOf all the things that by the way he said,For all his thoughts were on the days long dead.There in the painted hall he sat again,And 'neath the pictured eyes of CharlemaineHe ate and drank, and felt it like a dream;And midst his growing longings yet might deemThat he from sleep should wake up presentlyIn some fair city on the Syrian sea,Or on the brown rocks of the loadstone isle.But fain to be alone, within a whileHe gat him to the garden, and there passedBy wondering squires and damsels, till at last,Far from the merry folk who needs must play,If on the world were coming its last day,He sat him down, and through his mind there ranFaint thoughts of that day, when, outworn and wan,He lay down by the fountain-side to die.But when he strove to gain clear memoryOf what had happed since on the isle he layWaiting for death, a hopeless castaway,Thought, failing him, would rather bring againHis life among the peers of Charlemaine,And vex his soul with hapless memories;Until at last, worn out by thought of these,And hopeless striving to find what was true,And pondering on the deeds he had to doEre he returned, whereto he could not tell,Sweet sleep upon his wearied spirit fell.And on the afternoon of that fair day,Forgetting all, beneath the trees he lay.Meanwhile the Queen, affairs of state being done,Went through the gardens with one dame aloneSeeking for Ogier, whom at last she foundLaid sleeping on the daisy-sprinkled ground.Dreaming, I know not what, of other days.Then on him for a while the Queen did gaze,Drawing sweet poison from the lovely sight,Then to her fellow turned, "The Ancient Knight—What means he by this word of his?" she said;"He were well mated with some lovely maidJust pondering on the late-heard name of love.""Softly, my lady, he begins to move,"Her fellow said, a woman old and grey;"Look now, his arms are of another day;None know him or his deeds; thy squire just saidHe asked about the state of men long dead;I fear what he may be; look, seest thou notThat ring that on one finger he has got,Where figures strange upon the gold are wrought:God grant that he from hell has not been broughtFor our confusion, in this doleful war,Who surely in enough of trouble areWithout such help;" then the Queen turned asideAwhile, her drawn and troubled face to hide,For lurking dread this speech within her stirred;But yet she said, "Thou sayest a foolish word,This man is come against our enemiesTo fight for us." Then down upon her kneesFell the old woman by the sleeping knight,And from his hand she drew with fingers lightThe wondrous ring, and scarce again could riseEre 'neath the trembling Queen's bewildered eyesThe change began; his golden hair turned white,His smooth cheek wrinkled, and his breathing lightWas turned to troublous struggling for his breath,And on his shrunk lips lay the hand of death;And, scarce less pale than he, the trembling QueenStood thinking on the beauty she had seenAnd longed for, but a little while ago,Yet with her terror still her love did grow,And she began to weep as though she sawHer beauty e'en to such an ending draw.And 'neath her tears waking he oped his eyes,And strove to speak, but nought but gasping sighsHis lips could utter; then he tried to reachHis hand to them, as though he would beseechThe gift of what was his: but all the whileThe crone gazed on them with an evil smile,Then holding toward the Queen that wondrous ring,She said, "Why weep'st thou? having this fair thing,Thou, losing nought the beauty that thou hast,May'st watch the vainly struggling world go past,Thyself unchanged." The Queen put forth her handAnd took the ring, and there awhile did standAnd strove to think of it, but still in herSuch all-absorbing longings love did stir,So young she was, of death she could not think,Or what a cup eld gives to man to drink;Yet on her finger had she set the ringWhen now the life that hitherto did clingTo Ogier's heart seemed fading quite away,And scarcely breathing with shut eyes he lay.Then, kneeling down, she murmured piteously,"Ah, wilt thou love me if I give it thee,And thou grow'st young again? what should I doIf with the eyes thou thus shalt gain anewThou shouldst look scorn on me?" But with that wordThe hedge behind her, by the west wind stirred,Cast fear into her heart of some one nigh,And therewith on his finger hastilyShe set the ring, then rose and stood apartA little way, and in her doubtful heartWith love and fear was mixed desire of life.But standing so, a look with great scorn rifeThe elder woman, turning, cast on her,Pointing to Ogier, who began to stir;She looked, and all she erst saw now did seemTo have been nothing but a hideous dream,As fair and young he rose from off the groundAnd cast a dazed and puzzled look around,Like one just waked from sleep in some strange place;But soon his grave eyes rested on her face,And turned yet graver seeing her so pale,And that her eyes were pregnant with some taleOf love and fear; she 'neath his eyes the whileForced her pale lips to semblance of a smile,And said, "O Ancient Knight, thou sleepest then?While through this poor land range the heathen menUnmet of any but my King and Lord:Nay, let us see the deeds of thine old sword.""Queen," said he, "bid me then unto this work,And certes I behind no wall would lurk,Nor send for succour, while a scanty folkStill followed after me to break the yoke:I pray thee grace for sleeping, and were fainThat I might rather never sleep againThen have such wretched dreams as I e'en nowHave waked from."Lovelier she seemed to growUnto him as he spoke; fresh colour cameInto her face, as though for some sweet shame,While she with tearful eyes beheld him so,That somewhat even must his burnt cheek glow,His heart beat faster. But again she said,"Nay, will dreams burden such a mighty head?Then may I too have pardon for a dream:Last night in sleep I saw thee, who didst seemTo be the King of France; and thou and IWere sitting at some great festivityWithin the many-peopled gold-hung place."The blush of shame was gone as on his faceShe gazed, and saw him read her meaning clearAnd knew that no cold words she had to fear,But rather that for softer speech he yearned.Therefore, with love alone her smooth cheek burned;Her parted lips were hungry for his kiss,She trembled at the near approaching bliss;Nathless, she checked her love a little while,Because she felt the old dame's curious smileUpon her, and she said, "O Ancient Knight,If I then read my last night's dream aright,Thou art come here our very help to be,Perchance to give my husband back to me;Come then, if thou this land art fain to save,And show the wisdom thou must surely haveUnto my council; I will give thee thenWhat charge I may among my valiant men;And certes thou wilt do so well herein,That, ere long, something greater shalt thou win:Come, then, deliverer of my throne and land,And let me touch for once thy mighty handWith these weak fingers."As she spoke, she metHis eager hand, and all things did forgetBut for one moment, for too wise were theyTo cast the coming years of joy away;Then with her other hand her gown she raisedAnd led him thence, and o'er her shoulder gazedAt her old follower with a doubtful smile,As though to say, "Be wise, I know thy guile!"But slowly she behind the lovers walked,Muttering, "So be it! thou shalt not be balkedOf thy desire; be merry! I am wise,Nor will I rob thee of thy ParadiseFor any other than myself; and thouMay'st even happen to have had enowOf this new love, before I get the ring,And I may work for thee no evil thing."Now ye shall know that the old chronicle,Wherein I read all this, doth duly tellOf all the gallant deeds that Ogier did,There may ye read them; nor let me be chidIf I therefore say little of these things,Because the thought of Avallon still clingsUnto my heart, and scarcely can I bearTo think of that long, dragging, useless year,Through which, with dulled and glimmering memory,Ogier was grown content to live and dieLike other men; but this I have to say,That in the council chamber on that dayThe Old Knight showed his wisdom well enow,While fainter still with love the Queen did growHearing his words, beholding his grey eyesFlashing with fire of warlike memories;Yea, at the last he seemed so wise indeedThat she could give him now the charge, to leadOne wing of the great army that set outFrom Paris' gates, midst many a wavering shout,Midst trembling prayers, and unchecked wails and tears,And slender hopes and unresisted fears.Now ere he went, upon his bed he lay,Newly awakened at the dawn of day,Gathering perplexéd thoughts of many a thing,When, midst the carol that the birds did singUnto the coming of the hopeful sun,He heard a sudden lovesome song begun'Twixt two young voices in the garden green,That seemed indeed the farewell of the Queen.
Thinkthat a hundred years have now passed by,Since ye beheld Ogier lie down to dieBeside the fountain; think that now ye areIn France, made dangerous with wasting war;In Paris, where about each guarded gate,Gathered in knots, the anxious people wait,And press around each new-come man to learnIf Harfleur now the pagan wasters burn,Or if the Rouen folk can keep their chain,Or Pont de l'Arche unburnt still guards the Seine?Or if 'tis true that Andelys succour wants?That Vernon's folk are fleeing east to Mantes?When will they come? or rather is it trueThat a great band the Constable o'erthrewUpon the marshes of the lower Seine,And that their long-ships, turning back again,Caught by the high-raised waters of the boreWere driven here and there and cast ashore?Such questions did they ask, and, as fresh menCame hurrying in, they asked them o'er again,And from scared folk, or fools, or ignorant,Still got new lies, or tidings very scant.But now amidst these men at last came one,A little ere the setting of the sun,With two stout men behind him, armed right well,Who ever as they rode on, sooth to tell,With doubtful eyes upon their master stared,Or looked about like troubled men and scared.And he they served was noteworthy indeed;Of ancient fashion were his arms and weed,Rich past the wont of men in those sad times;His face was bronzed, as though by burning climes,But lovely as the image of a godCarved in the days before on earth Christ trod;But solemn were his eyes, and grey as glass,And like to ruddy gold his fine hair was:A mighty man he was, and taller farThan those who on that day must bear the warThe pagans waged: he by the warders stayedScarce looked on them, but straight their words obeyedAnd showed his pass; then, asked about his nameAnd from what city of the world he came,Said, that men called him now the Ancient Knight,That he was come midst the king's men to fightFrom St. Omer's; and as he spoke, he gazedDown on the thronging street as one amazed,And answered no more to the questioningOf frightened folk of this or that sad thing;But, ere he passed on, turned about at lastAnd on the wondering guard a strange look cast,And said, "St. Mary! do such men as yeFight with the wasters from across the sea?Then, certes, are ye lost, however goodYour hearts may be; not such were those who stoodBeside the Hammer-bearer years agone."So said he, and as his fair armour shoneWith beauty of a time long passed away,So with the music of another dayHis deep voice thrilled the awe-struck, listening folk.Yet from the crowd a mocking voice outbroke,That cried, "Be merry, masters, fear ye nought,Surely good succour to our side is brought;For here is Charlemaine come off his tombTo save his faithful city from its doom.""Yea," said another, "this is certain news,Surely ye know how all the carvers useTo carve the dead man's image at the best,That guards the place where he may lie at rest;Wherefore this living image looks indeed,Spite of his ancient tongue and marvellous weed,To have but thirty summers."At the nameOf Charlemaine, he turned to whence there cameThe mocking voice, and somewhat knit his brow,And seemed as he would speak, but scarce knew how;So with a half-sigh soon sank back againInto his dream, and shook his well-wrought rein,And silently went on upon his way.And this was Ogier: on what evil dayHas he then stumbled, that he needs must come,Midst war and ravage, to the ancient homeOf his desires? did he grow weary then,And wish to strive once more with foolish menFor worthless things? or is fair AvallonSunk in the sea, and all that glory gone?Nay, thus it happed—One day she came to himAnd said, "Ogier, thy name is waxing dimUpon the world that thou rememberest not;The heathen men are thick on many a spotThine eyes have seen, and which I love therefore;And God will give His wonted help no more.Wilt thou, then, help? canst thou have any mindTo give thy banner once more to the wind?Since greater glory thou shalt win for thisThan erst thou gatheredst ere thou cam'st to bliss:For men are dwindled both in heart and frame,Nor holds the fair land any such a nameAs thine, when thou wert living midst thy peers;The world is worser for these hundred years."From his calm eyes there gleamed a little fire,And in his voice was something of desire,To see the land where he was used to be,As now he answered: "Nay, choose thou for me,Thou art the wisest; it is more than wellWithin this peaceful place with thee to dwell:Nor ill perchance in that old land to die,If, dying, I keep not the memoryOf this fair life of ours." "Nay, nay," said she,"As to thy dying, that shall never be,Whiles that thou keep'st my ring—and now, behold,I take from thee thy charmed crown of gold,And thou wilt be the Ogier that thou wastEre on the loadstone rock thy ship was cast:Yet thou shalt have thy youthful body still,And I will guard thy life from every ill."So was it done, and Ogier, armed right well,Sleeping, was borne away by some strong spell,And set upon the Flemish coast; and thenceTurned to St. Omer's, with a doubtful senseOf being in some wild dream, the while he knewThat great delight forgotten was his due,That all which there might hap was of small worth.So on he went, and sometimes unto mirthDid his attire move the country-folk,But oftener when strange speeches from him brokeConcerning men and things for long years dead,He filled the listeners with great awe and dread;For in such wild times as these people wereAre men soon moved to wonder and to fear.Now through the streets of Paris did he ride,And at a certain hostel did abideThroughout that night, and ere he went next dayHe saw a book that on a table lay,And opening it 'gan read in lazy mood:But long before it in that place he stood,Noting nought else; for it did chronicleThe deeds of men whom once he knew right well,When they were living in the flesh with him:Yea, his own deeds he saw, grown strange and dimAlready, and true stories mixed with lies,Until, with many thronging memoriesOf those old days, his heart was so oppressed,He 'gan to wish that he might lie at rest,Forgetting all things: for indeed by thisLittle remembrance had he of the blissThat wrapped his soul in peaceful Avallon.But his changed life he needs must carry on;For ye shall know the Queen was gathering menTo send unto the good King, who as thenIn Rouen lay, beset by many a bandOf those who carried terror through the land,And still by messengers for help he prayed:Therefore a mighty muster was being made,Of weak and strong, and brave and timorous,Before the Queen anigh her royal house.So thither on this morn did Ogier turn,Some certain news about the war to learn;And when he came at last into the square,And saw the ancient palace great and fairRise up before him as in other days,And in the merry morn the bright sun's raysGlittering on gathered helms and moving spears,He 'gan to feel as in the long-past years,And his heart stirred within him. Now the QueenCame from within, right royally beseen,And took her seat beneath a canopy,With lords and captains of the war anigh;And as she came a mighty shout arose,And round about began the knights to close,Their oath of fealty to swear anew,And learn what service they had got to do.But so it was, that some their shouts must stayTo gaze at Ogier as he took his wayThrough the thronged place; and quickly too he gatUnto the place whereas the Lady sat,For men gave place unto him, fearing him:For not alone was he most huge of limb,And dangerous, but something in his face,As his calm eyes looked o'er the crowded place,Struck men with awe; and in the ancient days,When men might hope alive on gods to gaze,They would have thought, "The gods yet love our townAnd from the heavens have sent a great one down."Withal unto the throne he came so near,That he the Queen's sweet measured voice could hear;And swiftly now within him wrought the changeThat first he felt amid those faces strange;And his heart burned to taste the hurrying lifeWith such desires, such changing sweetness rife.And yet, indeed, how should he live alone,Who in the old past days such friends had known?Then he began to think of Caraheu,Of Bellicent the fair, and once more knewThe bitter pain of rent and ended love.But while with hope and vain regret he strove,He found none 'twixt him and the Queen's high seat,And, stepping forth, he knelt before her feetAnd took her hand to swear, as was the wayOf doing fealty in that ancient day,And raised his eyes to hers; as fair was sheAs any woman of the world might beFull-limbed and tall, dark-haired, from her deep eyes,The snare of fools, the ruin of the wise,Love looked unchecked; and now her dainty hand,The well-knit holder of the golden wand,Trembled in his, she cast her eyes adown,And her sweet brow was knitted to a frown,As he, the taker of such oaths of yore,Now unto her all due obedience swore,Yet gave himself no name; and now the Queen,Awed by his voice as other folk had been,Yet felt a trembling hope within her riseToo sweet to think of, and with love's surpriseHer cheek grew pale; she said, "Thy style and nameThou tellest not, nor what land of thy fameIs glad; for, certes, some land must be glad,That in its bounds her house thy mother had.""Lady," he said, "from what far land I comeI well might tell thee, but another homeHave I long dwelt in, and its name have IForgotten now, forgotten utterlyWho were my fellows, and what deeds they did;Therefore, indeed, shall my first name be hidAnd my first country; call me on this dayThe Ancient Knight, and let me go my way."He rose withal, for she her fingers fairHad drawn aback, and on him 'gan to stareAs one afeard; for something terribleWas in his speech, and that she knew right well,Who 'gan to love him, and to fear that she,Shut out by some strange deadly mystery,Should never gain from him an equal love;Yet, as from her high seat he 'gan to move,She said, "O Ancient Knight, come presently,When we have done this muster, unto me,And thou shalt have thy charge and due commandFor freeing from our foes this wretched land!"Then Ogier made his reverence and went,And somewhat could perceive of her intent;For in his heart life grew, and love with lifeGrew, and therewith, 'twixt love and fame, was strife.But, as he slowly gat him from the square,Gazing at all the people gathered there,A squire of the Queen's behind him came,And breathless, called him by his new-coined name,And bade him turn because the Queen now bade,Since by the muster long she might be stayed,That to the palace he should bring him straight,Midst sport and play her coming back to wait;Then Ogier turned, nought loath, and with him went,And to a postern-gate his steps he bent,That Ogier knew right well in days of old;Worn was it now, and the bright hues and goldUpon the shields above, with lapse of days,Were faded much: but now did Ogier gazeUpon the garden where he walked of yore,Holding the hands that he should see no more;For all was changed except the palace fair,That Charlemaine's own eyes had seen built thereEre Ogier knew him; there the squire did leadThe Ancient Knight, who still took little heedOf all the things that by the way he said,For all his thoughts were on the days long dead.There in the painted hall he sat again,And 'neath the pictured eyes of CharlemaineHe ate and drank, and felt it like a dream;And midst his growing longings yet might deemThat he from sleep should wake up presentlyIn some fair city on the Syrian sea,Or on the brown rocks of the loadstone isle.But fain to be alone, within a whileHe gat him to the garden, and there passedBy wondering squires and damsels, till at last,Far from the merry folk who needs must play,If on the world were coming its last day,He sat him down, and through his mind there ranFaint thoughts of that day, when, outworn and wan,He lay down by the fountain-side to die.But when he strove to gain clear memoryOf what had happed since on the isle he layWaiting for death, a hopeless castaway,Thought, failing him, would rather bring againHis life among the peers of Charlemaine,And vex his soul with hapless memories;Until at last, worn out by thought of these,And hopeless striving to find what was true,And pondering on the deeds he had to doEre he returned, whereto he could not tell,Sweet sleep upon his wearied spirit fell.And on the afternoon of that fair day,Forgetting all, beneath the trees he lay.Meanwhile the Queen, affairs of state being done,Went through the gardens with one dame aloneSeeking for Ogier, whom at last she foundLaid sleeping on the daisy-sprinkled ground.Dreaming, I know not what, of other days.Then on him for a while the Queen did gaze,Drawing sweet poison from the lovely sight,Then to her fellow turned, "The Ancient Knight—What means he by this word of his?" she said;"He were well mated with some lovely maidJust pondering on the late-heard name of love.""Softly, my lady, he begins to move,"Her fellow said, a woman old and grey;"Look now, his arms are of another day;None know him or his deeds; thy squire just saidHe asked about the state of men long dead;I fear what he may be; look, seest thou notThat ring that on one finger he has got,Where figures strange upon the gold are wrought:God grant that he from hell has not been broughtFor our confusion, in this doleful war,Who surely in enough of trouble areWithout such help;" then the Queen turned asideAwhile, her drawn and troubled face to hide,For lurking dread this speech within her stirred;But yet she said, "Thou sayest a foolish word,This man is come against our enemiesTo fight for us." Then down upon her kneesFell the old woman by the sleeping knight,And from his hand she drew with fingers lightThe wondrous ring, and scarce again could riseEre 'neath the trembling Queen's bewildered eyesThe change began; his golden hair turned white,His smooth cheek wrinkled, and his breathing lightWas turned to troublous struggling for his breath,And on his shrunk lips lay the hand of death;And, scarce less pale than he, the trembling QueenStood thinking on the beauty she had seenAnd longed for, but a little while ago,Yet with her terror still her love did grow,And she began to weep as though she sawHer beauty e'en to such an ending draw.And 'neath her tears waking he oped his eyes,And strove to speak, but nought but gasping sighsHis lips could utter; then he tried to reachHis hand to them, as though he would beseechThe gift of what was his: but all the whileThe crone gazed on them with an evil smile,Then holding toward the Queen that wondrous ring,She said, "Why weep'st thou? having this fair thing,Thou, losing nought the beauty that thou hast,May'st watch the vainly struggling world go past,Thyself unchanged." The Queen put forth her handAnd took the ring, and there awhile did standAnd strove to think of it, but still in herSuch all-absorbing longings love did stir,So young she was, of death she could not think,Or what a cup eld gives to man to drink;Yet on her finger had she set the ringWhen now the life that hitherto did clingTo Ogier's heart seemed fading quite away,And scarcely breathing with shut eyes he lay.Then, kneeling down, she murmured piteously,"Ah, wilt thou love me if I give it thee,And thou grow'st young again? what should I doIf with the eyes thou thus shalt gain anewThou shouldst look scorn on me?" But with that wordThe hedge behind her, by the west wind stirred,Cast fear into her heart of some one nigh,And therewith on his finger hastilyShe set the ring, then rose and stood apartA little way, and in her doubtful heartWith love and fear was mixed desire of life.But standing so, a look with great scorn rifeThe elder woman, turning, cast on her,Pointing to Ogier, who began to stir;She looked, and all she erst saw now did seemTo have been nothing but a hideous dream,As fair and young he rose from off the groundAnd cast a dazed and puzzled look around,Like one just waked from sleep in some strange place;But soon his grave eyes rested on her face,And turned yet graver seeing her so pale,And that her eyes were pregnant with some taleOf love and fear; she 'neath his eyes the whileForced her pale lips to semblance of a smile,And said, "O Ancient Knight, thou sleepest then?While through this poor land range the heathen menUnmet of any but my King and Lord:Nay, let us see the deeds of thine old sword.""Queen," said he, "bid me then unto this work,And certes I behind no wall would lurk,Nor send for succour, while a scanty folkStill followed after me to break the yoke:I pray thee grace for sleeping, and were fainThat I might rather never sleep againThen have such wretched dreams as I e'en nowHave waked from."Lovelier she seemed to growUnto him as he spoke; fresh colour cameInto her face, as though for some sweet shame,While she with tearful eyes beheld him so,That somewhat even must his burnt cheek glow,His heart beat faster. But again she said,"Nay, will dreams burden such a mighty head?Then may I too have pardon for a dream:Last night in sleep I saw thee, who didst seemTo be the King of France; and thou and IWere sitting at some great festivityWithin the many-peopled gold-hung place."The blush of shame was gone as on his faceShe gazed, and saw him read her meaning clearAnd knew that no cold words she had to fear,But rather that for softer speech he yearned.Therefore, with love alone her smooth cheek burned;Her parted lips were hungry for his kiss,She trembled at the near approaching bliss;Nathless, she checked her love a little while,Because she felt the old dame's curious smileUpon her, and she said, "O Ancient Knight,If I then read my last night's dream aright,Thou art come here our very help to be,Perchance to give my husband back to me;Come then, if thou this land art fain to save,And show the wisdom thou must surely haveUnto my council; I will give thee thenWhat charge I may among my valiant men;And certes thou wilt do so well herein,That, ere long, something greater shalt thou win:Come, then, deliverer of my throne and land,And let me touch for once thy mighty handWith these weak fingers."As she spoke, she metHis eager hand, and all things did forgetBut for one moment, for too wise were theyTo cast the coming years of joy away;Then with her other hand her gown she raisedAnd led him thence, and o'er her shoulder gazedAt her old follower with a doubtful smile,As though to say, "Be wise, I know thy guile!"But slowly she behind the lovers walked,Muttering, "So be it! thou shalt not be balkedOf thy desire; be merry! I am wise,Nor will I rob thee of thy ParadiseFor any other than myself; and thouMay'st even happen to have had enowOf this new love, before I get the ring,And I may work for thee no evil thing."Now ye shall know that the old chronicle,Wherein I read all this, doth duly tellOf all the gallant deeds that Ogier did,There may ye read them; nor let me be chidIf I therefore say little of these things,Because the thought of Avallon still clingsUnto my heart, and scarcely can I bearTo think of that long, dragging, useless year,Through which, with dulled and glimmering memory,Ogier was grown content to live and dieLike other men; but this I have to say,That in the council chamber on that dayThe Old Knight showed his wisdom well enow,While fainter still with love the Queen did growHearing his words, beholding his grey eyesFlashing with fire of warlike memories;Yea, at the last he seemed so wise indeedThat she could give him now the charge, to leadOne wing of the great army that set outFrom Paris' gates, midst many a wavering shout,Midst trembling prayers, and unchecked wails and tears,And slender hopes and unresisted fears.Now ere he went, upon his bed he lay,Newly awakened at the dawn of day,Gathering perplexéd thoughts of many a thing,When, midst the carol that the birds did singUnto the coming of the hopeful sun,He heard a sudden lovesome song begun'Twixt two young voices in the garden green,That seemed indeed the farewell of the Queen.
In the white-flowered hawthorn brake,Love, be merry for my sake;Twine the blossoms in my hair,Kiss me where I am most fair—Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
In the white-flowered hawthorn brake,Love, be merry for my sake;Twine the blossoms in my hair,Kiss me where I am most fair—Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Nay, the garlanded gold hairHides thee where thou art most fair;Hides the rose-tinged hills of snow—Ah, sweet love, I have thee now!Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Nay, the garlanded gold hairHides thee where thou art most fair;Hides the rose-tinged hills of snow—Ah, sweet love, I have thee now!Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Shall we weep for a dead day,Or set Sorrow in our way?Hidden by my golden hair,Wilt thou weep that sweet days wear?Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Shall we weep for a dead day,Or set Sorrow in our way?Hidden by my golden hair,Wilt thou weep that sweet days wear?Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Weep, O Love, the days that flit,Now, while I can feel thy breath,Then may I remember itSad and old, and near my death.Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Weep, O Love, the days that flit,Now, while I can feel thy breath,Then may I remember itSad and old, and near my death.Kiss me, love! for who knowethWhat thing cometh after death?
Soothed by the pleasure that the music broughtAnd sweet desire, and vague and dreamy thoughtOf happiness it seemed to promise him,He lay and listened till his eyes grew dim,And o'er him 'gan forgetfulness to creepTill in the growing light he lay asleep,Nor woke until the clanging trumpet-blastHad summoned him all thought away to cast:Yet one more joy of love indeed he hadEre with the battle's noise he was made glad;For, as on that May morning forth they rodeAnd passed before the Queen's most fair abode,There at a window was she waiting themIn fair attire with gold in every hem,And as the Ancient Knight beneath her passedA wreath of flowering white-thorn down she cast,And looked farewell to him, and forth he setThinking of all the pleasure he should getFrom love and war, forgetting AvallonAnd all that lovely life so lightly won;Yea, now indeed the earthly life o'erpastEre on the loadstone rock his ship was castWas waxing dim, nor yet at all he learnedTo 'scape the fire that erst his heart had burned.And he forgat his deeds, forgat his fame,Forgat the letters of his ancient nameAs one waked fully shall forget a dream,That once to him a wondrous tale did seem.Now I, though writing here no chronicleE'en as I said, must nathless shortly tellThat, ere the army Rouen's gates could gainBy a broad arrow had the King been slain,And helpless now the wretched country layBeneath the yoke, until the glorious dayWhen Ogier fell at last upon the foe,And scattered them as helplessly as thoughThey had been beaten men without a name:So when to Paris town once more he cameFew folk the memory of the King did keepWithin their hearts, and if the folk did weepAt his returning, 'twas for joy indeedThat such a man had risen at their needTo work for them so great deliverance,And loud they called on him for King of France.But if the Queen's heart were the more a-flameFor all that she had heard of his great fame,I know not; rather with some hidden dreadOf coming fate, she heard her lord was dead,And her false dream seemed coming true at last,For the clear sky of love seemed overcastWith clouds of God's great judgments, and the fearOf hate and final parting drawing near.So now when he before her throne did standAmidst the throng as saviour of the land,And she her eyes to his kind eyes did raise,And there before all her own love must praise;Then did she fall a-weeping, and folk said,"See, how she sorrows for the newly dead!Amidst our joy she needs must think of him;Let be, full surely shall her grief wax dimAnd she shall wed again."So passed the year,While Ogier set himself the land to clearOf broken remnants of the heathen men,And at the last, when May-time came again,Must he be crowned King of the twice-saved land,And at the altar take the fair Queen's handAnd wed her for his own. And now by thisHad he forgotten clean the woe and blissOf his old life, and still was he made gladAs other men; and hopes and fears he hadAs others, and bethought him not at allOf what strange days upon him yet should fallWhen he should live and these again be dead.Now drew the time round when he should be wed,And in his palace on his bed he layUpon the dawning of the very day:'Twixt sleep and waking was he, and could hearE'en at that hour, through the bright morn and clear,The hammering of the folk who toiled to makeSome well-wrought stages for the pageant's sake,Though hardly yet the sparrows had begunTo twitter o'er the coming of the sun,Nor through the palace did a creature move.There in the sweet entanglement of loveMidst languid thoughts of greater bliss he lay,Remembering no more of that other dayThan the hot noon remembereth of the night,Than summer thinketh of the winter white.In that sweet hour he heard a voice that cried,"Ogier, Ogier!" then, opening his eyes wide,And rising on his elbow, gazed around,And strange to him and empty was the soundOf his own name; "Whom callest thou?" he said"For I, the man who lie upon this bed,Am Charles of France, and shall be King to-day,But in a year that now is passed awayThe Ancient Knight they called me: who is this,Thou callest Ogier, then, what deeds are his?And who art thou?" But at that word a sigh,As of one grieved, came from some place anighHis bed-side, and a soft voice spake again,"This Ogier once was great amongst great men;To Italy a helpless hostage led;He saved the King when the false Lombard fled,Bore forth the Oriflamme and gained the day;Charlot he brought back, whom men led away,And fought a day-long fight with Caraheu.The ravager of Rome his right hand slew;Nor did he fear the might of Charlemaine,Who for a dreary year beset in vainHis lonely castle; yet at last caught then,And shut in hold, needs must he come againTo give an unhoped great deliveranceUnto the burdened helpless land of France:Denmark he gained thereafter, and he woreThe crown of England drawn from trouble sore;At Tyre then he reigned, and BabylonWith mighty deeds he from the foemen won;And when scarce aught could give him greater fame,He left the world still thinking on his name."These things did Ogier, and these things didst thou,Nor will I call thee by a new name nowSince I have spoken words of love to thee—Ogier, Ogier, dost thou remember me,E'en if thou hast no thought of that past timeBefore thou camest to our happy clime?"As this was said, his mazed eyes saw indeedA lovely woman clad in dainty weedBeside his bed, and many a thought was stirredWithin his heart by that last plaintive word,Though nought he said, but waited what should come"Love," said she, "I am here to bring thee home;Well hast thou done all that thou cam'st to do,And if thou bidest here, for something newWill folk begin to cry, and all thy fameShall then avail thee but for greater blame;Thy love shall cease to love thee, and the earthThou lovest now shall be of little worthWhile still thou keepest life, abhorring itBehold, in men's lives that so quickly flitThus is it, how then shall it be with thee,Who some faint image of eternityHast gained through me?—alas, thou heedest not!On all these changing things thine heart is hot—Take then this gift that I have brought from far,And then may'st thou remember what we are;The lover and the loved from long ago."He trembled, and more memory seemed to growWithin his heart as he beheld her stand,Holding a glittering crown in her right hand:"Ogier," she said, "arise and do on theeThe emblems of thy worldly sovereignty,For we must pass o'er many a sea this morn."He rose, and in the glittering tunic wornBy Charlemaine he clad himself, and tookThe ivory hand, that Charlemaine once shookOver the people's heads in days of old;Then on his feet he set the shoes of gold.And o'er his shoulders threw the mantle fair,And set the gold crown on his golden hair:Then on the royal chair he sat him down,As though he deemed the elders of the townShould come to audience; and in all he seemedTo do these things e'en as a man who dreamed.And now adown the Seine the golden sunShone out, as toward him drew that lovely oneAnd took from off his head the royal crown,And, smiling, on the pillow laid it downAnd said, "Lie there, O crown of Charlemaine,Worn by a mighty man, and worn in vain,Because he died, and all the things he didWere changed before his face by earth was hid;A better crown I have for my love's head,Whereby he yet shall live, when all are deadHis hand has helped." Then on his head she setThe wondrous crown, and said, "Forget, forget!Forget these weary things, for thou hast muchOf happiness to think of."At that touchHe rose, a happy light gleamed in his eyes;And smitten by the rush of memories,He stammered out, "O love! how came we here?What do we in this land of Death and Fear?Have I not been from thee a weary while?Let us return—I dreamed about the isle;I dreamed of other years of strife and pain,Of new years full of struggles long and vain."She took him by the hand and said, "Come, love,I am not changed;" and therewith did they moveUnto the door, and through the sleeping placeSwiftly they went, and still was Ogier's faceTurned on her beauty, and no thought was hisExcept the dear returning of his bliss.But at the threshold of the palace-gateThat opened to them, she awhile did wait,And turned her eyes unto the rippling SeineAnd said, "O love, behold it once again!"He turned, and gazed upon the city greySmit by the gold of that sweet morn of May;He heard faint noises as of wakening folkAs on their heads his day of glory broke;He heard the changing rush of the swift streamAgainst the bridge-piers. All was grown a dreamHis work was over, his reward was come,Why should he loiter longer from his home?A little while she watched him silently,Then beckoned him to follow with a sigh,And, raising up the raiment from her feet,Across the threshold stepped into the street;One moment on the twain the low sun shone,And then the place was void, and they were goneHow I know not; but this I know indeed,That in whatso great trouble or sore needThe land of France since that fair day has been,No more the sword of Ogier has she seen.
Soothed by the pleasure that the music broughtAnd sweet desire, and vague and dreamy thoughtOf happiness it seemed to promise him,He lay and listened till his eyes grew dim,And o'er him 'gan forgetfulness to creepTill in the growing light he lay asleep,Nor woke until the clanging trumpet-blastHad summoned him all thought away to cast:Yet one more joy of love indeed he hadEre with the battle's noise he was made glad;For, as on that May morning forth they rodeAnd passed before the Queen's most fair abode,There at a window was she waiting themIn fair attire with gold in every hem,And as the Ancient Knight beneath her passedA wreath of flowering white-thorn down she cast,And looked farewell to him, and forth he setThinking of all the pleasure he should getFrom love and war, forgetting AvallonAnd all that lovely life so lightly won;Yea, now indeed the earthly life o'erpastEre on the loadstone rock his ship was castWas waxing dim, nor yet at all he learnedTo 'scape the fire that erst his heart had burned.And he forgat his deeds, forgat his fame,Forgat the letters of his ancient nameAs one waked fully shall forget a dream,That once to him a wondrous tale did seem.Now I, though writing here no chronicleE'en as I said, must nathless shortly tellThat, ere the army Rouen's gates could gainBy a broad arrow had the King been slain,And helpless now the wretched country layBeneath the yoke, until the glorious dayWhen Ogier fell at last upon the foe,And scattered them as helplessly as thoughThey had been beaten men without a name:So when to Paris town once more he cameFew folk the memory of the King did keepWithin their hearts, and if the folk did weepAt his returning, 'twas for joy indeedThat such a man had risen at their needTo work for them so great deliverance,And loud they called on him for King of France.But if the Queen's heart were the more a-flameFor all that she had heard of his great fame,I know not; rather with some hidden dreadOf coming fate, she heard her lord was dead,And her false dream seemed coming true at last,For the clear sky of love seemed overcastWith clouds of God's great judgments, and the fearOf hate and final parting drawing near.So now when he before her throne did standAmidst the throng as saviour of the land,And she her eyes to his kind eyes did raise,And there before all her own love must praise;Then did she fall a-weeping, and folk said,"See, how she sorrows for the newly dead!Amidst our joy she needs must think of him;Let be, full surely shall her grief wax dimAnd she shall wed again."So passed the year,While Ogier set himself the land to clearOf broken remnants of the heathen men,And at the last, when May-time came again,Must he be crowned King of the twice-saved land,And at the altar take the fair Queen's handAnd wed her for his own. And now by thisHad he forgotten clean the woe and blissOf his old life, and still was he made gladAs other men; and hopes and fears he hadAs others, and bethought him not at allOf what strange days upon him yet should fallWhen he should live and these again be dead.Now drew the time round when he should be wed,And in his palace on his bed he layUpon the dawning of the very day:'Twixt sleep and waking was he, and could hearE'en at that hour, through the bright morn and clear,The hammering of the folk who toiled to makeSome well-wrought stages for the pageant's sake,Though hardly yet the sparrows had begunTo twitter o'er the coming of the sun,Nor through the palace did a creature move.There in the sweet entanglement of loveMidst languid thoughts of greater bliss he lay,Remembering no more of that other dayThan the hot noon remembereth of the night,Than summer thinketh of the winter white.In that sweet hour he heard a voice that cried,"Ogier, Ogier!" then, opening his eyes wide,And rising on his elbow, gazed around,And strange to him and empty was the soundOf his own name; "Whom callest thou?" he said"For I, the man who lie upon this bed,Am Charles of France, and shall be King to-day,But in a year that now is passed awayThe Ancient Knight they called me: who is this,Thou callest Ogier, then, what deeds are his?And who art thou?" But at that word a sigh,As of one grieved, came from some place anighHis bed-side, and a soft voice spake again,"This Ogier once was great amongst great men;To Italy a helpless hostage led;He saved the King when the false Lombard fled,Bore forth the Oriflamme and gained the day;Charlot he brought back, whom men led away,And fought a day-long fight with Caraheu.The ravager of Rome his right hand slew;Nor did he fear the might of Charlemaine,Who for a dreary year beset in vainHis lonely castle; yet at last caught then,And shut in hold, needs must he come againTo give an unhoped great deliveranceUnto the burdened helpless land of France:Denmark he gained thereafter, and he woreThe crown of England drawn from trouble sore;At Tyre then he reigned, and BabylonWith mighty deeds he from the foemen won;And when scarce aught could give him greater fame,He left the world still thinking on his name."These things did Ogier, and these things didst thou,Nor will I call thee by a new name nowSince I have spoken words of love to thee—Ogier, Ogier, dost thou remember me,E'en if thou hast no thought of that past timeBefore thou camest to our happy clime?"As this was said, his mazed eyes saw indeedA lovely woman clad in dainty weedBeside his bed, and many a thought was stirredWithin his heart by that last plaintive word,Though nought he said, but waited what should come"Love," said she, "I am here to bring thee home;Well hast thou done all that thou cam'st to do,And if thou bidest here, for something newWill folk begin to cry, and all thy fameShall then avail thee but for greater blame;Thy love shall cease to love thee, and the earthThou lovest now shall be of little worthWhile still thou keepest life, abhorring itBehold, in men's lives that so quickly flitThus is it, how then shall it be with thee,Who some faint image of eternityHast gained through me?—alas, thou heedest not!On all these changing things thine heart is hot—Take then this gift that I have brought from far,And then may'st thou remember what we are;The lover and the loved from long ago."He trembled, and more memory seemed to growWithin his heart as he beheld her stand,Holding a glittering crown in her right hand:"Ogier," she said, "arise and do on theeThe emblems of thy worldly sovereignty,For we must pass o'er many a sea this morn."He rose, and in the glittering tunic wornBy Charlemaine he clad himself, and tookThe ivory hand, that Charlemaine once shookOver the people's heads in days of old;Then on his feet he set the shoes of gold.And o'er his shoulders threw the mantle fair,And set the gold crown on his golden hair:Then on the royal chair he sat him down,As though he deemed the elders of the townShould come to audience; and in all he seemedTo do these things e'en as a man who dreamed.And now adown the Seine the golden sunShone out, as toward him drew that lovely oneAnd took from off his head the royal crown,And, smiling, on the pillow laid it downAnd said, "Lie there, O crown of Charlemaine,Worn by a mighty man, and worn in vain,Because he died, and all the things he didWere changed before his face by earth was hid;A better crown I have for my love's head,Whereby he yet shall live, when all are deadHis hand has helped." Then on his head she setThe wondrous crown, and said, "Forget, forget!Forget these weary things, for thou hast muchOf happiness to think of."At that touchHe rose, a happy light gleamed in his eyes;And smitten by the rush of memories,He stammered out, "O love! how came we here?What do we in this land of Death and Fear?Have I not been from thee a weary while?Let us return—I dreamed about the isle;I dreamed of other years of strife and pain,Of new years full of struggles long and vain."She took him by the hand and said, "Come, love,I am not changed;" and therewith did they moveUnto the door, and through the sleeping placeSwiftly they went, and still was Ogier's faceTurned on her beauty, and no thought was hisExcept the dear returning of his bliss.But at the threshold of the palace-gateThat opened to them, she awhile did wait,And turned her eyes unto the rippling SeineAnd said, "O love, behold it once again!"He turned, and gazed upon the city greySmit by the gold of that sweet morn of May;He heard faint noises as of wakening folkAs on their heads his day of glory broke;He heard the changing rush of the swift streamAgainst the bridge-piers. All was grown a dreamHis work was over, his reward was come,Why should he loiter longer from his home?A little while she watched him silently,Then beckoned him to follow with a sigh,And, raising up the raiment from her feet,Across the threshold stepped into the street;One moment on the twain the low sun shone,And then the place was void, and they were goneHow I know not; but this I know indeed,That in whatso great trouble or sore needThe land of France since that fair day has been,No more the sword of Ogier has she seen.
Suchwas the tale he told of Avallon.E'en such an one as in days past had wonHis youthful heart to think upon the quest;But to those old hearts nigh in reach of rest,Not much to be desired now it seemed—Perchance the heart that of such things had dreamedHad found no words in this death-laden tongueWe speak on earth, wherewith they might be sung;Perchance the changing years that changed his heartE'en in the words of that old tale had part,Changing its sweet to bitter, to despairThe foolish hope that once had glittered there—Or think, that in some bay of that far homeThey then had sat, and watched the green waves comeUp to their feet with many promises;Or the light wind midst blossom-laden trees,In the sweet Spring had weighted many a wordOf no worth now, and many a hope had stirredLong dead for ever.Howsoe'er that beAmong strange folk they now sat quietly,As though that tale with them had nought to do,As though its hopes and fears were something newBut though, indeed, the outworn, dwindled bandHad no tears left for that once longed-for land,The very wind must moan for their decay,And from the sky, grown dull, and low, and grey,Cold tears must fall upon the lonely field,That such fair golden hopes erewhile did yield;And on the blackening woods, wherein the dovesSat silent now, forgetful of their loves.Yet, since a little life at least was left,They were not yet of every joy bereft,For long ago was past the agony,Midst which they found that they indeed must die;And now well-nigh as much their pain was pastAs though death's veil already had been castOver their heads—so, midst some little mirth,They watched the dark night hide the gloomy earth.
Suchwas the tale he told of Avallon.E'en such an one as in days past had wonHis youthful heart to think upon the quest;But to those old hearts nigh in reach of rest,Not much to be desired now it seemed—Perchance the heart that of such things had dreamedHad found no words in this death-laden tongueWe speak on earth, wherewith they might be sung;Perchance the changing years that changed his heartE'en in the words of that old tale had part,Changing its sweet to bitter, to despairThe foolish hope that once had glittered there—Or think, that in some bay of that far homeThey then had sat, and watched the green waves comeUp to their feet with many promises;Or the light wind midst blossom-laden trees,In the sweet Spring had weighted many a wordOf no worth now, and many a hope had stirredLong dead for ever.Howsoe'er that beAmong strange folk they now sat quietly,As though that tale with them had nought to do,As though its hopes and fears were something newBut though, indeed, the outworn, dwindled bandHad no tears left for that once longed-for land,The very wind must moan for their decay,And from the sky, grown dull, and low, and grey,Cold tears must fall upon the lonely field,That such fair golden hopes erewhile did yield;And on the blackening woods, wherein the dovesSat silent now, forgetful of their loves.Yet, since a little life at least was left,They were not yet of every joy bereft,For long ago was past the agony,Midst which they found that they indeed must die;And now well-nigh as much their pain was pastAs though death's veil already had been castOver their heads—so, midst some little mirth,They watched the dark night hide the gloomy earth.
Transcriber's Note:
Some quotes are opened with marks but are not closed and, since they require interpretation, have been left open as presented in the original text.