 | Poems |  |
THE TORCH-RACE.
Flash on the torch, bright as it shone
Ere Athens, foremost in the race,
Athens, so swift who bore it on,
Exhausted, gave to Sparta place;
Fierce flamed it in that iron clasp,
In Thebes' free hold how next it shone!
Then Greece resign'd it from her grasp;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Ere Athens, foremost in the race,
Athens, so swift who bore it on,
Exhausted, gave to Sparta place;
Fierce flamed it in that iron clasp,
In Thebes' free hold how next it shone!
Then Greece resign'd it from her grasp;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Then she the savage she-wolf found,
Who by the Tiber made her lair,
Caught the bright glory with a bound,
And, shouting, whirl'd it on through air;
Through trembling nations on she pass'd,
Till on the North the splendour shone,
That tore it from her grasp at last;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Who by the Tiber made her lair,
Caught the bright glory with a bound,
And, shouting, whirl'd it on through air;
Through trembling nations on she pass'd,
Till on the North the splendour shone,
That tore it from her grasp at last;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
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Then, feebly borne, it flickering kept
Its wavering course till Milan came
To glorious youth, and forward leapt,
And toss'd along the living flame;
Nor, of Italia's daughters, sole
Was she on whose fair form it shone;
Fair Florence swept it towards the goal.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Its wavering course till Milan came
To glorious youth, and forward leapt,
And toss'd along the living flame;
Nor, of Italia's daughters, sole
Was she on whose fair form it shone;
Fair Florence swept it towards the goal.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Then fiery Ghent the splendour flash'd
Red onward through the night around;
On with its glare Helvetia dash'd
From fierce Morgarten, bound on bound;
From Spain's fell grasp, free Holland burst;
On Leyden's deluged walls it shone;
It glared where Haarlem dared war's worst.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Red onward through the night around;
On with its glare Helvetia dash'd
From fierce Morgarten, bound on bound;
From Spain's fell grasp, free Holland burst;
On Leyden's deluged walls it shone;
It glared where Haarlem dared war's worst.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Then England, with a mighty cry,
A cry that through the earth still rings,
Caught the bright splendour, whirl'd it high,
And flamed it in the eyes of kings;
Trembling, earth's tyrants heard her shout;
On Naseby's ranks the fierce glare shone;
It flared along the Boyne's red rout;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
A cry that through the earth still rings,
Caught the bright splendour, whirl'd it high,
And flamed it in the eyes of kings;
Trembling, earth's tyrants heard her shout;
On Naseby's ranks the fierce glare shone;
It flared along the Boyne's red rout;
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Thrice, fiery France, through shriek and yell,
Right on the streaming glory bore;
Thrice from her gory grasp it fell,
Her grip that strains for it once more.
How Belgium seized it, fame can tell;
How from Sardinia's hold it's shone,
The night of Italy knows well.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Right on the streaming glory bore;
Thrice from her gory grasp it fell,
Her grip that strains for it once more.
How Belgium seized it, fame can tell;
How from Sardinia's hold it's shone,
The night of Italy knows well.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
And thou, O Anak of the West,
Thou who hast full-grown sprung to birth,
Young giant, how shalt thou be blest
To stream its glory round the earth!
Thou great one, sprung from this great land,
Long from our grasp its splendour's shone;
Thou hast its glory from our hand.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
Thou who hast full-grown sprung to birth,
Young giant, how shalt thou be blest
To stream its glory round the earth!
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Long from our grasp its splendour's shone;
Thou hast its glory from our hand.
On—flash the torch of freedom on!
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