The Poetical Works of (Richard Monckton Milnes) Lord Houghton | ||
290
ON THE OPENING OF THE ALBERT HALL
South Kensington, May 1, 1871.
O people of this favoured land
Within this peaceful Orbit met,
We strike the chords with trembling hand,
The voice within us falters yet:
While on this point of time we stand,
Shall we remember or forget?
Within this peaceful Orbit met,
We strike the chords with trembling hand,
The voice within us falters yet:
While on this point of time we stand,
Shall we remember or forget?
We must remember those good days
When first we bade the Nations fill
The fairy Halls we dared to raise,
By Genius wed to earnest Will,—
And all was pleasure, power, and praise,
The fair reward of toil and skill.
When first we bade the Nations fill
The fairy Halls we dared to raise,
By Genius wed to earnest Will,—
And all was pleasure, power, and praise,
The fair reward of toil and skill.
So let this gracious memory veil
From present thoughts the later woe,
Now that the blood-red clouds grow pale,
Now that no more the trumpets blow,—
No more beneath the fiery hail
Children in terror come and go.
From present thoughts the later woe,
Now that the blood-red clouds grow pale,
Now that no more the trumpets blow,—
291
Children in terror come and go.
Be this a feast of Hope! the flowers
Of Spring the waste of War repair:
The quiet work of happier hours
Dispels the load of human care:
For Industry and Art are Powers
That know no End and no Despair.
Of Spring the waste of War repair:
The quiet work of happier hours
Dispels the load of human care:
For Industry and Art are Powers
That know no End and no Despair.
The Poetical Works of (Richard Monckton Milnes) Lord Houghton | ||