Page:Poems Sigourney, 1834.pdf/42

Where stout King William sought to stay
    Duke Robert's rebel pride.
Yet still those Christian precepts blest,
    Learned in monastic bower,
Held mastery o'er their rugged breasts,
    In war's destructive hour.

And when the piercing cry "to save"
    Was heard through battle strife,
Their planted creed of mercy gave
    The fallen suppliant life:—
While still the merry Norman song
    Rose up prolonged and clear,
Those sombre halls and cells among,
    When wintry nights were drear.

For friendship hath a magic spell
    The affinities to find,
That in opposing natures dwell,
    And link the wayward mind:—
She bade the men of blood, no more
    The sons of peace revile,
And woke in haunts of cloistered lore
    The sad ascetic's smile.