Alfred

By William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

Alfred the Great, King of England, died Oct. 28, 901.

BEHOLD a pupil of the monkish gown,

The pious ALFRED, King to Justice dear!

Lord of the harp and liberating spear;

Mirror of Princes! Indigent Renown

Might range the starry ether for a crown

Equal to his deserts, who, like the year,

Pours forth his bounty, like the day doth cheer,

And awes like night with mercy-tempered frown.

Ease from this noble miser of his time

No moment steals; pain narrows not his cares.

Though small his kingdom as a spark or gem,

Of Alfred boasts remote Jerusalem,

And Christian India, through her widespread clime,

In sacred converse gifts with Alfred shares.