The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson ::

Transcendent Valour!—godlike Pow'r!
Lord of the dauntless breast, and stedfast mien!
Who, rob'd in majesty sublime,
Sat in thy eagle-wafted car,
And led the hardy sons of war,
With head erect, and eye serene,
Amidst the arrowy show'r;
When, unsubdued, from clime to clime,
Young Ammon taught exulting Fame
O'er earth's vast space to sound the glories of thy name.

Illustrious Valour! from whose glance
Each recreant passion shrinks dismay'd;
To whom benignant Heav'n consign'd
All that can elevate the mind;
'Tis thine, in radiant worth array'd,
To rear thy glitt'ring helmet high,
And with intrepid front defy
Stern Fate's uplifted arm and desolating lance.

149

When, from the Chaos of primæval Night,
This wondrous Orb first sprung to light,
And, poiz'd amid the sphery clime
By strong Attraction's pow'r sublime,
Its whirling course began;
With sacred spells encompass'd round,
Each element observ'd its bound,
Earth's solid base huge promontories bore;
Curb'd Ocean roar'd, clasp'd by the rocky shore;
And 'midst metallic fires translucent rivers ran.

All nature own'd th' Omnipotent's command!
Luxuriant blessings deck'd the vast domain;
He bade the budding branch expand,
And from the teeming ground call'd forth the cherish'd grain;
Salubrious springs from flinty caverns drew;
Enamell'd verdure o'er the landscape threw;
He taught the scaly host to glide,
Sportive, amidst the limpid tide;
His breath sustain'd the Eagle's wing;
With vocal sounds bade hills and valleys ring;
Then, with his Word supreme, awoke to birth
The human Form sublime! The Sov'reign Lord of Earth!

150

Valour! thy pure and sacred flame
Diffus'd its radiance o'er his mind;
From Thee he learnt the fiery Steed to tame,
And with a flow'ry band the speckled Pard to bind;
Guarded by Heav'n's eternal shield,
He taught each living thing to yield;
Wond'ring yet undismay'd he stood
To mark the Sun's fierce fires decay;
Fearless he saw the tiger play,
While at his stedfast gaze the Lion couch'd subdu'd.

When, fading in the grasp of death,
Illustrious Wolfe on earth's cold bosom lay;
His anxious soldiers, thronging round,
Bath'd with their tears each gushing wound;
As on his pallid lip the fleeting breath
In faint and broken accents stole away,
Loud shouts of triumph fill'd the skies,
To Heav'n he rais'd his grateful eyes,
“'Tis Vict'ry's voice!” the hero cried,
“I thank thee, bounteous Heav'n!” then smiling died!

When erst on Calpe's rock stern victory stood,
Hurling swift vengeance o'er the bounding flood,
Each winged bolt illum'd a flame,
Iberia's vaunting sons to tame,

151

While o'er the foaming troubled deep
The blasts of desolation flew,
Fierce lightnings, hov'ring round the frowning steep,
'Midst the wild waves their fatal arrows threw;
Loud roar'd the cannon's voice with ceaseless ire,
While the vast bulwark glow'd a pyramid of fire!

Then, in each Briton's gallant breast,
Benignant Virtue shone confest!
While death spread wide his direful reign,
And shrieks of horror echo'd o'er the main,
Eager they plung'd their sinking foes to save
From the dread precincts of a whelming grave!
Then Valour, was thy proudest hour!
Then didst thou, like a radiant God,
Check the stern rigours of th' avenging rod,
And with soft mercy's hand subdue the scourge of power.

University of Virginia Library

ODE TO VALOUR.