 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
I
Firm as England's coast,When the tempests blow,
Stood the British line,
And foil'd the advancing foe.
The fierce Napoleon sigh'd to win the day,
But Wellington was calm—the master of the fray.
119
Blow trumpets! beat the drum!—
And when the order flew
Like light o'er Waterloo,
And the great immortal strife begun:
“Now be brief,”
Said the chief;
“We'll excel all the deeds we have done;—
Follow me,
You shall see
How the battle should be fought and won!”
II
Ney and all his men,Never known to fail,
Fled in sudden rout,
Like storms of rattling hail.
The old Imperial Guard—Napoleon's boast—
Dissolved before the shock of the mighty British host;
And Blucher, found at last,
Came sweeping like a blast.
The knell of France had peal'd;
The Frenchmen fled the field;
The great Napoleon saw he was undone;—
“Follow me!”
Then said he;
“All is lost!—they are coming!—let us run!
Sauvons-nous!
They pursue!
And the battle has been lost and won!”
120
III
Thus the fight was fought,Not for vain renown,
Not for sake of war,
Or mad ambition's crown;
But for the sake of peace, unknown so long,
To give the world repose from tyranny and wrong.
And thus for evermore,
Unconquer'd as before,
May Britain stand her ground,
And Wellingtons be found
To wave her glorious banner to the sun;
And to lead,
When we need,
Crying, “Englishmen! the strife has begun!
Follow me!
You shall see
How the battle should be fought and won!”
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |