“Kneel down in the dust and sackcloth, And own, with contrite tears, Your arrogant self-worship, And wrongs of many years; Your luxuries hard-hearted; Your pride so barren-cold, Remote from the warmth of pity For men of the self-same mould, As good as yourselves or better, In all but the shining gold. “Kneel down, ye priests and preachers, Ye men of lawn and stole, Who call yourselves physicians And guardians of the soul, And own if ye have not hated Your brethren, night and day, Because at God’s high altars They bent another way, And sought not _your_ assistance To worship and to pray. * * * * * “Awake! awake! ye sleepers, There’s danger over all, When the strong shall be sorely shaken, And the weak shall go to the wall; When towers on the hill-top standing Shall topple at a word, And the principles of ages Shall be question’d with the sword, And the heart’s blood of the nations Like fountains shall be pour’d! “When a fierce and a searching Spirit Shall stalk o’er the startled earth, And make great Thrones the playthings Of his madness or his mirth; When ancient creeds and systems, In the fury of his breath, Shall whirl like the leaves of Autumn, When the north wind belloweth, And drift away unheeded, To the deep, deep seas of death!” No one, save those who have selfish interests to serve and who for latent purposes of their own may think it advisable to soothe or to flatter the King, will for a moment question the dangers and difficulties which surround our present Monarch at the opening of his reign. His worst foes are not rival nations, for he has inherited from his august Mother a certain fine and courteous tact which is rare to find even in the most accredited diplomat. It is a helpful endowment, and will of a certainty aid him to unknot many a perplexing tangle of dispute. He is undoubtedly regarded by all foreigners with respect and liking, and his broad-minded, liberal views are well known, so that as a leading Austrian newspaper says, “It is anticipated that he will prove a mild and wise ruler, under whom England will lose enemies and gain new friends.”