along the sea-line shore cities set with
their crowns of towers in the midst of broad bays, each fit, it seemed,
to be a harbour for the navies of all the world.

Inland the pastures and cornlands lay, chequered much with climbing, over-
tumbling grape vines, under the sun that crumbled their clods, and drew
up the young wheat in the spring-time, under the rain that made the long
grass soft and fine, under all fair fertilising influences: the streams
leapt down from the mountain tops, or cleft their way through the ridged
ravines; they grew great rivers, like seas each one.

The mountains were cloven, and gave forth from their scarred sides wealth
of ore and splendour of marble; all things this people that King Valdemar
ruled over could do; they levelled mountains, that over the smooth roads
the wains might go, laden with silk and spices from the sea: they drained
lakes, that the land might yield more and more, as year by year the
serfs, driven like cattle, but worse fed, worse housed, died slowly,
scarce knowing that they had souls; they builded them huge ships, and
said that they were masters of the sea too; only, I trow the sea was an
unruly subject, and often sent them back their ships cut into more pieces
than the pines of them were, when the adze first fell upon them; they
raised towers, and bridges, and marble palaces with endless corridors
rose-scented, and cooled with welling fountains.

They sent great armies and fleets to all the points of heaven that the
wind blows from, who took and burned many happy cities, wasted many
fields and valleys, blotted out from the memory of men the names of
nations, made their men's lives a hopeless shame and misery to them,
their women's lives disgrace, and then came home to have flowers thrown
on them in showers, to be feasted and called heroes.

Should not then their king be proud of them? Moreover they could fashion
stone and brass into the shapes of men; they could write books; they knew
the names of the stars, and their number; they knew what moved the
passions of men in the hearts of them, and could draw you up cunningly,
catalogues of virtues and vices; their wise men could prove to you that
any lie was true, that any truth was false, till your head grew dizzy,
and your heart sick, and you almost doubted if there were a God.

Should not then their king be proud of them? Their men were strong in
body, and moved about gracefully--like dancers; and the purple-black,