waters wan
To the land of elves and the land of fairies, enchanted
Masinderan."

The singer ceased; and the lyre in his hand snapped, as a cord,
in twain;
And neither lyre nor singer was seen in the kingdom of Persia
again.

And all the nobles gazed astounded; no man spoke a word
Till the old king said: "Call out my armies; bring me hither a
sword!"

As a little torrent swollen by snows is turned to a terrible
stream,
So the gathering voices of all his countries cried to the king in
his dream.

Crying, "For thee, O our king, for thee we had freely and
willingly died,
Warriors, martyrs, what thou wilt; not that our lives betide

"The worth of a thought to the king, but rather because thy rod
Is over our heads as over thine Is the changeless will of God.

"Rather for this we beseech thee, O master, for thine own sake
refrain
From the blasphemous madness of pride, from the fever of
impious gain."

"You seek my death," the king thundered; "you cry, forbear
to save
The life of a king too old to frolic; let him sleep in the grave.

"But I will live for all your treason; and, by my own right
hand!
I will set out this day with you to conquer Fairyland."

Then all the nations paled aghast, for the battle to begin
Was a war with God, and a war with death, and they knew
the thing was sin.

Sick at heart they gathered together, but none denounced the
wrong,
For the will of God was unseen, unsaid, and the will of the king
was strong.

So the air grew bright with spears, and the earth shook under
the tread
Of the mighty horses harnessed for battle; the standards flaunted
red.

And the wind was loud with the blare of trumpets, and every
house was void
Of the strength and stay of the house, and the peace of the land
destroyed.

And the growing corn was trodden under the weight of armed
feet,
And every woman in Persia cursed the sound of a song too sweet,

Cursed the insensate longing for life in the heart of a sick old
man;
But the king of Persia with all his armies marched on Masinderan.

Many a day they marched in the sun till their silver armour was
lead
To sink their bodies into the grave, and many a man fell dead.

And they passed the mouth of hell, and the shadowy country
gray,
Where t