Ecclesiastical Sonnets: XXVI. Alfred

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 gifts with Alfred shares
By sacred converse link’d with India’s clime.