A Legend of Camelot, Pictures and Poems, etc/Two Thrones
TWO THRONES.
OH, Beauty, peerless as thou art,
And wide thy range, and keen thy dart,
And meek the captives of thy bow,
Inconstant beats the manly heart—
The present Bard's extremely so!
Wit, Wisdom, Strength, and Valour meet
(The Bard amongst them), at thy feet
To kneel in homage, as of old;
Yet turn a rival Queen to greet,
Whose crown is of a purer gold!
Preen as thou wilt thy feathers fine,
A gift is hers, by grace divine,
Even more potent to enthral,
O Bird of Paradise, than thine,
The hearts and souls of one and all!
And what avail thy gilded crest,
The silver shimmer of thy breast,
The glories of thy painted wing,
If, yielding to the Bard's behest,
The Nightingale vouchsafe to sing!
"Yet turn a rival Queen to greet."