Classic Poem

FROM " THE HOUSE OF NIGHT "

Death in this tomb his weary bones hath laid,
Sick of dominion o'er the human kind;
Behold what devastations he hath made,
Survey the millions by his arm confined.

" Six thousand years has sovereign sway been mine,
None but myself can real glory claim;
Great Regent of the world I reigned alone,
And princes trembled when my mandate came.

" Vast and unmatched throughout the world, my fame
Takes place of gods, and asks no mortal date —
No: by myself, and by the heavens, I swear
Not Alexander's name is half so great.

" Nor swords nor darts my prowess could withstand,
All quit their arms, and bowed to my decree, —
Even mighty Julius died beneath my hand,
For slaves and Caesars were the same to me! "

Traveller, wouldst thou his noblest trophies seek,
Search in no narrow spot obscure for those;
The sea profound, the surface of all land,
Is moulded with the myriads of his foes.