So like a shatter'd column lay the King: Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere: And slowly answered Arthur from the barge: "The old order changeth, yielding place to new, And God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. I have lived my life, and that which I have done If thou shouldst never see my face again, Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice For what are men better than sheep or goats If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friends? Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. (For all my mind is clouded with a doubt) — Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, So said he, and the barge with oar and sail Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan That, fluting a wild carol ere her death, Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood. GLAD TIDINGS WILLIAM WORDSWORTH To convert the heathen conquerors to Christianity, Pope Gregory I. sent Augustine to Britain (597). The missionaries landed at Thanet in Kent, where they were hospitably received by King Ethelbert. The procession of priests in white vestments, chanting the litany and bearing aloft a silver cross and a banner on which was painted the crucifixion, made a deep impression on the mind of the king. He gave Augustine permission to preach the word of God throughout Kent. Within the next hundred years all Britain was converted to Christianity. For ever hallowed be this morning fair, Blest be the unconscious shore on which ye tread, Chanting in barbarous ears a tuneful prayer, Sung for themselves and those whom they would free! Rich conquest waits them :-the tempestuous sea Of Ignorance, that ran so rough and high, ALFRED AND HIS DESCENDANTS WILLIAM WORDSWORTH No sooner had the English established themselves in Britain, adopted Christianity, and settled down to an orderly life, than their land was overrun by new barbarians. These were the Danes, daring sea-rovers, who had abandoned their own bleak country and come south to seek booty and conquest along the rich Channel coasts. Among the kings who strove to defend England against the Danes, Alfred, king of Wessex, was the most glorious. His hard-fought victories, the wisdom of his rule, his zealous care for learning and for religion, won for him, alone among English kings, the title of "the Great." Among the descendants of Alfred, his son, Edward the Elder, his daughter, Ethelflæda, Lady of Mercia, his great-grandson, Edgar the Peaceful, proved worthy of their high inheritance. I Behold a pupil of the Monkish gown, Pours forth his bounty, like a day doth cheer, No moment steals; pain narrows not his cares. And Christian India, through her widespread clime, In sacred converse gifts with Alfred shares. II When thy great soul was freed from mortal chains, As oft, 'mid some green plot of open ground, The fostered hyacinths spread their purple bloom. CANUTE THE DANE MICHAEL FIELD EDGAR'S son, Ethelred the Unready, was a feeble king, and the realm was wrested from him by Swegen, king of Denmark. Canute, Swegen's son, reigned over England twenty-one years (1014-1035). The Danes were hated by the English as barbarians and pagans, but Canute became a Christian and proved a wise and able ruler. ACT III SCENE II Canute (a voice singing). Is that a child At babble with his vespers?- Silver sweet! It minds me of the holy brotherhood, Chanting adown the banks. As yesterday |