 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
83
KING CHARLES'S ‘GRACES.’
A.D. 1626.
I
Thus babble the strong ones, ‘The chain is slacken'd!Ye can turn half round on your side to sleep!
With the thunder-cloud still your isle is blacken'd;
But it hurls no bolt upon tower or steep.
Ye are slaves in name: old laws proscribe you;
But the King is kindly, the Queen is fair;
They are knaves or fools who would goad or bribe you
A legal freedom to claim! Beware!’
II
We answer thus: our country's honourTo us is dear as our country's life!
That stigma the foul law casts upon her
Is the brand on the fame of a blameless wife!
Once more we answer: from honour never
Can safety long time be found apart:
The bondsman that vows not his bond to sever,
Is a slave by right and a slave in heart!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |