Britain ... - Blue-Lite

394 THE VARANGIAN. [Act V.
On Denmark's coast now gathered ? where proud fleets
The ocean darken with their shadowy sails,
Waiting
the breeze that wafts them to these shores ?
But I am he with sinews strung for war,
With arm that never failed to quell a foe,
Who will, if 'neath my banners ye enlist,
Lead you to victory o'er the savage Dane,
And make the haughty lords of France to bow
In vassalage to England.
Here I swear
By the bright Resurrection ! if ye yield
Obedience to my power, throughout the land
Shall pious Edward's laws be well observed,
And ne'er again shall Insurrection lift
Her voice to taint the honour of our reign
With falsehood or injustice.
[Some of the Saxon Soldiers shout, "A
William ! A William /"
Choose ye, then,
A weak, unwarlike, and unfriended boy
To be your chief, and with him that sure doom
Which on rebellion waits ; or me, your King,
To be your martial leader, who will fight
To life's last gasp, the foremost in your ranks,
For your loved homes and all your dearest rights,
Though the wide North from every region pour
Her battles on these shores, and guide you on
To liberty and ever-living fame.
[The Saxon Soldiers shout, "Away with Edgar!
Death to the Etheling!" fyc. They cross over
and join the royal troops, till only a few Chiefs
remain with Edgar, who stands awhile astonish-
ed and irresolute, then falls on his knees to the
King.