Page:Poems Piatt.djvu/163

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A COAT-OF-ARMS
149
One—who with all his peerage fell
By Fontarabia—sat forlorn
In jewelled death at Aix———ah! well,
Who listens now for Roland's horn?

One who was half a god, they say,
Cried for the stars—and died of wine;
One pushed the crown of Rome away—
And Antony's speech was very fine!

. . . The Shah of Persia, too? Why, yes,
He and his overcoat, no doubt.
Oh, the Khedive will send, I guess,
Half Egypt[1]—when he finds you out!

Victor of Italy, the Czar,
Franz-Joseph, the sweet Spanish youth,
And Prussian William,—these are all
Your kinsmen, child, in very truth.

Your coat-of-arms, then I forgot
Some kings, the oldest, wisest, best;—
Take Jason's golden fleece,—why not?
Put Solomon's seal upon your crest.

  1. Allusion to the Khedive's present to an American lady, 1875.