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The poetical works of William Wordsworth

... In six volumes ... A new edition

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XXVII. INDIGNATION OF A HIGH-MINDED SPANIARD.
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XXVII. INDIGNATION OF A HIGH-MINDED SPANIARD.

1810.
We can endure that He should waste our lands,
Despoil our temples, and by sword and flame
Return us to the dust from which we came;
Such food a Tyrant's appetite demands:
And we can brook the thought that by his hands
Spain may be overpowered, and he possess,
For his delight, a solemn wilderness
Where all the brave lie dead. But, when of bands
Which he will break for us he dares to speak,
Of benefits, and of a future day
When our enlightened minds shall bless his sway;
Then, the strained heart of fortitude proves weak;
Our groans, our blushes, our pale cheeks declare
That he has power to inflict what we lack strength to bear.