"Knights and ladies and shields and swords,--
Ah, well-a-day for the grand old days!
Castles and moats, and the bright steel coats,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"The lances are shivered, the helmets rust,--
Ah, well-a-day for the stern old days!
And the clarion's blast has rung its last,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"And the warriors that swept to glory and death,--
Ah, well-a-day for the brave old days!
They have fought and gone, and I sit here alone
By the flowing river of Aise.
"The strength of limb and the mettle of heart,--
Ah, well-a-day for the strong old days!
They have withered away, mere butterflies' play,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"The queens of beauty, whose smile was life,--
Ah, well-a-day for the rare old days!
With love and despair in their golden hair,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"They have flitted away from hall and bower,--
Ah, well-a-day for the rich old days!
Like the sun they shone, like the sun they have gone,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"And buried beneath the pall of the past,--
Ah, well-a-day for the proud old days!
Lie valor and worth and the beauty of earth,
By the flowing river of Aise.
"And I sit and sigh by the idle stream,--
Ah, well-a-day for the bright old days!
For nothing remains for the poet's strains
But the flowing river of Aise."
Then a voice rang out from the oak overhead,--
"Why well-a-day for the old, old days?
The world is the same, if the bard has an aim,
By the flowing river of Aise.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154