 | Songs and ballads by Samuel Lover |  |
'TWAS THE DAY OF THE FEAST.
[_]
When the annual tribute of the flag of Waterloo to the crown of England was made to William the Fourth, a few hours before his Majesty's lamented death, the King on receiving the banner, pressed it to his heart, saying, “It was a glorious day for England;” and expressed a wish he might survive the day, that the Duke of Wellington's commemoration fête of the victory of Waterloo might take place. A dying monarch receiving the banner commemorative of a national conquest, and wishing at the same time that his death might not disturb the triumphal banquet, is at once so heroic and poetic, that it naturally suggests a poem.
'Twas the day of the feast in the chieftain's hall,
'Twas the day he had seen the foeman fall,
'Twas the day that his country's valour stood
'Gainst steel and fire and the tide of blood:
And the day was mark'd by his country well—
For they gave him broad valleys, the hill and the dell,
And they ask'd, as a tribute, the hero should bring
The flag of the foe to the foot of the king.
'Twas the day he had seen the foeman fall,
'Twas the day that his country's valour stood
'Gainst steel and fire and the tide of blood:
And the day was mark'd by his country well—
For they gave him broad valleys, the hill and the dell,
And they ask'd, as a tribute, the hero should bring
The flag of the foe to the foot of the king.
'Twas the day of the feast in the chieftain's hall,
And the banner was brought at the chieftain's call,
And he went in his glory the tribute to bring,
To lay at the foot of the brave old king:
But the hall of the King was in silence and grief,
And smiles, as of old, did not greet the chief;
For he came on the angel of victory's wing,
While the angel of death was awaiting the king.
And the banner was brought at the chieftain's call,
And he went in his glory the tribute to bring,
To lay at the foot of the brave old king:
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And smiles, as of old, did not greet the chief;
For he came on the angel of victory's wing,
While the angel of death was awaiting the king.
The chieftain he knelt by the couch of the king;
“I know,” said the monarch, “the tribute you bring,
Give me the banner, ere life depart;”
And he press'd the flag to his fainting heart.
“It is joy, e'en in death,” cried the monarch, “to say
That my country hath known such a glorious day!
Heaven grant I may live till the midnight's fall,
That my chieftain may feast in his warrior hall!”
“I know,” said the monarch, “the tribute you bring,
Give me the banner, ere life depart;”
And he press'd the flag to his fainting heart.
“It is joy, e'en in death,” cried the monarch, “to say
That my country hath known such a glorious day!
Heaven grant I may live till the midnight's fall,
That my chieftain may feast in his warrior hall!”
| Songs and ballads by Samuel Lover | |