| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | October 28 | | Alfred | | By William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | | Alfred the Great, King of England, died Oct. 28, 901. |
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BEHOLD a pupil of the monkish gown, | |
| The pious ALFRED, King to Justice dear! | |
| Lord of the harp and liberating spear; | |
| Mirror of Princes! Indigent Renown | |
| Might range the starry ether for a crown | 5 |
| Equal to his deserts, who, like the year, | |
| Pours forth his bounty, like the day doth cheer, | |
| And awes like night with mercy-tempered frown. | |
| Ease from this noble miser of his time | |
| No moment steals; pain narrows not his cares. | 10 |
| Though small his kingdom as a spark or gem, | |
| Of Alfred boasts remote Jerusalem, | |
| And Christian India, through her widespread clime, | |
| In sacred converse gifts with Alfred shares. | | | |
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