 | 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition |  |
MAGNA CHARTA.
English men, who did their duty,
Have with thunder girt the throne,
English women walk in beauty,
Which is lent to them alone;
Where the Ganges rolls its waters,
To the farthest icy flood,
Shines the grace of England's daughters,
And is shed our soldiers' blood;
Oft the hero, who, as martyr,
At the post of honour dies;
But what glory, like the Charter
Of our ancient liberties?
Have with thunder girt the throne,
English women walk in beauty,
Which is lent to them alone;
Where the Ganges rolls its waters,
To the farthest icy flood,
Shines the grace of England's daughters,
And is shed our soldiers' blood;
Oft the hero, who, as martyr,
At the post of honour dies;
But what glory, like the Charter
Of our ancient liberties?
This the jewel of the nation,
And the brightest in its crown,
Source of fame, our faith's salvation,
By the centuries passed down;
Handed on from fathers fighting
For the bulwarks of their age
Unto sons, who left their writing
Broader on each golden page;
This, more splendid than the Garter,
For which princes bow the knee,
The imperishable Charter,
Making us a people free.
And the brightest in its crown,
Source of fame, our faith's salvation,
By the centuries passed down;
Handed on from fathers fighting
For the bulwarks of their age
Unto sons, who left their writing
Broader on each golden page;
This, more splendid than the Garter,
For which princes bow the knee,
The imperishable Charter,
Making us a people free.
Do we yield without a struggle,
Truth for which have thousands bled—
Yield what fools away would juggle,
For a party place or bread?
Can we now refuse its fitness,
To our sacred solemn right,
At the mouth of one frail witness,
Giving up our beacon light?
Shall the justice, which is parter
Between innocence and shame,
Be expunged from England's Charter,
Leave it but an empty name?
Truth for which have thousands bled—
Yield what fools away would juggle,
For a party place or bread?
Can we now refuse its fitness,
To our sacred solemn right,
At the mouth of one frail witness,
Giving up our beacon light?
Shall the justice, which is parter
Between innocence and shame,
Be expunged from England's Charter,
Leave it but an empty name?
365
What was granted to the Roman,
We concede to even the slave,
To the murderer or foeman,
Who would right of hearing crave;
Shall we not then honest trial,
Mete the maidens of our land,
But to them alone denial,
While they bear the leper's brand?
Must we for oppression barter
Holy treasures of the State,
And renounce the mighty Charter,
Which has made our Britain Great?
We concede to even the slave,
To the murderer or foeman,
Who would right of hearing crave;
Shall we not then honest trial,
Mete the maidens of our land,
But to them alone denial,
While they bear the leper's brand?
Must we for oppression barter
Holy treasures of the State,
And renounce the mighty Charter,
Which has made our Britain Great?
| 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition | |