“Whither away, young King Alfonso?
(Oh, for pity!) Whither away?”
“I go seeking my queen Mercedes,
For I have not seen her since yesterday.”

“But we have seen your queen Mercedes,
Seen the queen, though her eyes were hid,
While four dukes all gently bore her
Through the streets of sad Madrid.

“Oh, how her face was calm as heaven!
Oh, how her hands were ivory white!
Oh, how she wore the satin slippers
That you kissed on the bridal night

“Dark are the lamps of the lonely palace.
Black are the suits the nobles don.
In letters of gold on the wall 'tis written:
Her Majesty is dead and gone.”

He fainted to hear us, young Alfonso,
Drooped like an eagle with broken wing.
But the cannon thundered: “Valor, valor!”
And the people shouted: “Long live the king!”