Tales of a Wayside Inn

Robert of Sicily, brother of Pope Urbane / And Valmond, Emperor of Allemaine, / Apparelled in magnificent attire, / With retinue of many a knight and squire, / On St. John's eve, at vespers, proudly sat / And heard the priests chant the Magnificat, / And as he listened, o'er and o'er again / Repeated, like a burden or refrain, / He caught the words, "Deposuit potentes / De sede, et exaltavit humiles; " / And slowly lifting up his kingly head / He to a learned clerk beside him said, / "What mean these words? " The clerk made answer meet, / "He has put down the mighty from their seat, / And has exalted them of low degree. " / Thereat King Robert muttered scornfully, / "T is well that such seditious words are sung / Only by priests and in the Latin tongue; / For unto priests and people be it known, / There is no power can push me from my throne! " / And leaning back, he yawned and fell asleep, / Lulled by the chant monotonous and deep.

When he awoke, it was already night; / The church was empty, and there was no light, / Save where the lamps, that glimmered few and faint, / Lighted a little space before some saint. / He started from his seat and gazed around, / But saw no living thing and heard no sound. / He groped towards the door, but it was locked; / He cried aloud, and listened, and then knocked, / And uttered awful threatenings and complaints, / And imprecations upon men and saints. / The sounds re-echoed from the roof and walls / As if dead priests were laughing in their stalls.