Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 4.djvu/574

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532
POEMS 1816-1823.

"Good King! thou art justly served,
Good King! this thou hast deserved.
Woe is me, Alhama!


10.

"By thee were slain, in evil hour,
The Abencerrage, Granada's flower;
And strangers were received by thee,
Of Cordova the Chivalry.
Woe is me, Alhama!


11.

"And for this, oh King! is sent
On thee a double chastisement;
Thee and thine, thy crown and realm,
One last wreck shall overwhelm.
Woe is me, Alhama!


12.

"He who holds no laws in awe,
He must perish by the law;
And Granada must be won,
And thyself with her undone."
Woe is me, Alhama!


13.

Fire flashed from out the old Moor's eyes,
The Monarch's wrath began to rise,
Because he answered, and because
He spake exceeding well of laws.[1]
Woe is me, Alhama!


14.

"There is no law to say such things

As may disgust the ear of kings:"—
  1. ["De leyes tambien hablava" should be rendered "He spake also of the laws," not tam bien, "so well," or "exceeding well."]