 | On that sad day what tears Britannia shed |  |
[On that sad day what tears Britannia shed]
On that sad day what tears Britannia shed,
How pour'd her anguish o'er the mighty Dead!
Thames, on thy shore the widow'd Mourner stood,
And sigh'd her sorrows to the restless flood,
Accus'd the Gods, appeal'd to every shade,
And tore the wreathed laurel from her head.
How pour'd her anguish o'er the mighty Dead!
Thames, on thy shore the widow'd Mourner stood,
And sigh'd her sorrows to the restless flood,
Accus'd the Gods, appeal'd to every shade,
And tore the wreathed laurel from her head.
“Ye Meads enamel'd, and ye waving Woods,
“With dismal yews, and solemn cypress mourn;
“Ye rising Mountains, and ensilver'd Floods,
“Repeat my sighs, and weep upon his urn.
“With dismal yews, and solemn cypress mourn;
“Ye rising Mountains, and ensilver'd Floods,
“Repeat my sighs, and weep upon his urn.
“Oft in your haunts the young Marcellus stray'd,
“There oft in thought your future glories plan'd,
“Bade sacred Science lift her lawrel'd head,
“And Peace extend her olive o'er the land.—
“There oft in thought your future glories plan'd,
“Bade sacred Science lift her lawrel'd head,
“And Peace extend her olive o'er the land.—
“Enrich'd with all of Fair, and Great, and Good,
“That guides the Monarch, or adorns the Man,
“Albion in Him a future Father view'd,
“Strong o'er the world, as o'er Himself to reign:
“That guides the Monarch, or adorns the Man,
“Albion in Him a future Father view'd,
“Strong o'er the world, as o'er Himself to reign:
“Ill-fated Youth! no Albion thou shalt see,
“No World hast thou to rule, no Crown to come,
“Nor Monarch, nor the Man remain to Thee,
“Thy Robe a Shrowd, and all thy Court a Tomb!—
“No World hast thou to rule, no Crown to come,
“Nor Monarch, nor the Man remain to Thee,
“Thy Robe a Shrowd, and all thy Court a Tomb!—
“On yon sair eminence the Cedar stood,
“O'er distant lands he stretch'd the shade immense,
“First of the fields and king of all the wood,
“The sun's defiance, and the flocks defence:
“O'er distant lands he stretch'd the shade immense,
“First of the fields and king of all the wood,
“The sun's defiance, and the flocks defence:
“Nurs'd in his shade the infant Scyons grow,
“Unknown to storms their healthy blossoms spread,
“Drink fost'ring juices from the parent-bough,
“And promise like protection to the mead.
“Unknown to storms their healthy blossoms spread,
“Drink fost'ring juices from the parent-bough,
“And promise like protection to the mead.
“Sudden the Storm—the red-wing'd thunders roar,
“The cedar-forest felt the forceful wound;
“Shock'd from his root, the heaving rocks up-tore,
“And rush'd in cumb'rous ruin on the ground.
“The cedar-forest felt the forceful wound;
“Shock'd from his root, the heaving rocks up-tore,
“And rush'd in cumb'rous ruin on the ground.
“Thus fading fell the bloom of Albion's throne,
“Sudden, unwarn'd,—Heav'n sent no friendly call,
“Youth bade Him live, and Virtue reach'd a crown,
“While Fate relentless meditates his fall.
“Sudden, unwarn'd,—Heav'n sent no friendly call,
“Youth bade Him live, and Virtue reach'd a crown,
“While Fate relentless meditates his fall.
“We saw his Consort stay the drooping head;—
“He clasp'd his Babes, his Country's anguish wept;
“Then sunk serene upon the languid bed,
“Death drew the curtain, and the Hero slept.—
“He clasp'd his Babes, his Country's anguish wept;
“Then sunk serene upon the languid bed,
“Death drew the curtain, and the Hero slept.—
“At shining marks is swifter vengeance thrown,
“Does Death in Avarice sieze the richest spoil,
“Do Clouds rejoice to veil the mid-day Sun,
“And Fortune smite us, when she seems to smile?—
“Does Death in Avarice sieze the richest spoil,
“Do Clouds rejoice to veil the mid-day Sun,
“And Fortune smite us, when she seems to smile?—
“Our bliss unblossom'd, all our glories fled,
“Our wither'd beauty's languid, pale, and wan;
“Ye Gods! how slender and how weak a thread,
“Sustains our blessings, if they hang on Man!
“Our wither'd beauty's languid, pale, and wan;
“Ye Gods! how slender and how weak a thread,
“Sustains our blessings, if they hang on Man!
“Oft at the fall of Kings, th'astonish'd eye
“Views fancy'd tumults in the mid-night gleams,
“Sees glittering crests, and darting lances fly,
“Till one thick cloud absorbs the sportive beams:
“Views fancy'd tumults in the mid-night gleams,
“Sees glittering crests, and darting lances fly,
“Till one thick cloud absorbs the sportive beams:
“Such shades are Life! Ambition waves her plume,
“And Fortune's tinsel glitters o'er the mead,
“Till Fate o'erspreads th'impenetrable gloom,
“And suns and stars submit before the shade.”
“And Fortune's tinsel glitters o'er the mead,
“Till Fate o'erspreads th'impenetrable gloom,
“And suns and stars submit before the shade.”
Thus the sad Mourner bad her sorrows flow,
Indulg'd her pains, and told His worth in woe:
While list'ning surges learnt the moving song,
Hung on the lay, and ling'ring mourn'd along,
Impassion'd ecchoes swell'd the plaintive cry,
And whisp'ring winds prolong'd the tender sigh.
When from his silver throne the waves among,
In soft concern the watry Monarch sprung;
His brows begirt with Iris' circling ray,
That calms the tempest and revives the day:
“Forbear to mourn” (He wav'd the scepter'd hand,
Silent the winds, the waves subsiding stand,)
“Your Prince still lives, Immortals never die,
“On Angel-plumes He mounts in yonder sky;
“What tho' illustrious in the courts of Jove,
“He wears, perhaps a brighter crown above;
“He still on Albion's realms may deign to smile,
“And shed the sunshine on her blissful isle,
“With hand unseen some hidden thread direct,
“Still point the haven, and the helm protect.
Indulg'd her pains, and told His worth in woe:
While list'ning surges learnt the moving song,
Hung on the lay, and ling'ring mourn'd along,
And whisp'ring winds prolong'd the tender sigh.
When from his silver throne the waves among,
In soft concern the watry Monarch sprung;
His brows begirt with Iris' circling ray,
That calms the tempest and revives the day:
“Forbear to mourn” (He wav'd the scepter'd hand,
Silent the winds, the waves subsiding stand,)
“Your Prince still lives, Immortals never die,
“On Angel-plumes He mounts in yonder sky;
“What tho' illustrious in the courts of Jove,
“He wears, perhaps a brighter crown above;
“He still on Albion's realms may deign to smile,
“And shed the sunshine on her blissful isle,
“With hand unseen some hidden thread direct,
“Still point the haven, and the helm protect.
“If dies the day upon the weeping lawn,
“Lustres as fair revive the rising dawn;
“If Summer yields to chill Arcturus' blast,
“Her groves dishonour'd, and her furrows waste,
“Spring's genial wing returning broods the plain,
“Fields wave with gold, and meadows laugh again;
“If rushing storms the lawless surges swell,
“And gulphy eddies toss the fearful keel,
“Again serene the freighted billows glide,
“And barks triumphant stem th'applauding tide;
“Again rich India spreads her silken sails,
“And seeks my harbours born by spicy gales,
“Rejoicing Nations crowd the banks of Thame,
“And GEORGE and Peace diffuse th'indulgent beam.”
“Lustres as fair revive the rising dawn;
“If Summer yields to chill Arcturus' blast,
“Her groves dishonour'd, and her furrows waste,
“Spring's genial wing returning broods the plain,
“Fields wave with gold, and meadows laugh again;
“If rushing storms the lawless surges swell,
“And gulphy eddies toss the fearful keel,
“Again serene the freighted billows glide,
“And barks triumphant stem th'applauding tide;
“Again rich India spreads her silken sails,
“And seeks my harbours born by spicy gales,
“Rejoicing Nations crowd the banks of Thame,
“And GEORGE and Peace diffuse th'indulgent beam.”
Erasmus Darwin of St. John's College.
| On that sad day what tears Britannia shed | |