Not the bold Brandenburg, at Prussia's birth;
Nor yet Great Frederick when his fields were won,
And her domain stretched wide beneath the sun;
Nor William whose Sedan aroused the earth,
Was hero, conqueror, like the king whose worth
And woe subdued the world beside his bier.
Serene he walked with death through year and year
Slow-measured; braving torture's deeps in dearth
Of hope—the faithful, steadfast, lofty soul!
Ah, chant no dirge for him, but joyful pæan!
While Baltic laves its borders, Rhine doth roll,
No truer life will seek the empyrean
Than his whose fame nor realm nor age can span—
The manliest Emperor, the imperial man!