English Roses by F. Harald Williams [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] |
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| I. |
| II. |
THE WALLS OF ENGLAND. |
| III. |
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| V. |
| VI. |
 | English Roses |  |
189
THE WALLS OF ENGLAND.
What are the walls of England that fence our frontiers round,
And make a mighty shadow as dread as holy ground?
O not the ring of iron
Wrought by our gallant ships,
Which awfully environ
The land with thunderous lips;
And not the crimson surges crested with lightning steel,
Which break the stoutest barriers beneath our conquering heel;
Nor yet the wealth of nations
Heaped in her merchants' hold—
No greed her firm foundations,
Nor are her bulwarks gold.
And make a mighty shadow as dread as holy ground?
O not the ring of iron
Wrought by our gallant ships,
Which awfully environ
The land with thunderous lips;
And not the crimson surges crested with lightning steel,
Which break the stoutest barriers beneath our conquering heel;
Nor yet the wealth of nations
Heaped in her merchants' hold—
No greed her firm foundations,
Nor are her bulwarks gold.
What are the walls of England which keep our country strong,
When kingdoms pass and perish, and rampart us from wrong?
The liberties, the charters
Baptised in precious blood,
And wrung for us by martyrs
From bitter fire and flood;
The creed which is our glory with many a splendid spot,
All fashioned on fierce forges and hammered out red hot;
The freedom which we carry
Along our broadening way,
That lingers (if it tarry)
To spread a brighter day.
When kingdoms pass and perish, and rampart us from wrong?
The liberties, the charters
Baptised in precious blood,
And wrung for us by martyrs
From bitter fire and flood;
The creed which is our glory with many a splendid spot,
All fashioned on fierce forges and hammered out red hot;
The freedom which we carry
Along our broadening way,
That lingers (if it tarry)
To spread a brighter day.
What are the walls of England whereon we greatly rest,
The buttresses and bastions that mould our Mother's breast?
The love of right and order
Which gather us one guild,
And gird us with a border
Of empires we upbuild;
The law which lights our progress and scatters plenty wide,
Co-partner with the mercy that sitteth at God's side;
The justice joined to pity
Above an action mean,
Dealt out to man or city,
On which the suffering lean.
The buttresses and bastions that mould our Mother's breast?
The love of right and order
Which gather us one guild,
190
Of empires we upbuild;
The law which lights our progress and scatters plenty wide,
Co-partner with the mercy that sitteth at God's side;
The justice joined to pity
Above an action mean,
Dealt out to man or city,
On which the suffering lean.
What are the walls of England by ages set and sure,
A fortress to the feeble, a hiding-place secure?
It is the Truth we treasure,
Our father's sacred trust,
Which works in all its pleasure
And saveth souls from rust;
The franchise which it giveth to tender hearts and true,
That ask no sordid wages and seek but others' due;
The faith that is not bounded,
And heeds no earthly shock—
These are our walls, and founded
On the Eternal Rock.
A fortress to the feeble, a hiding-place secure?
It is the Truth we treasure,
Our father's sacred trust,
Which works in all its pleasure
And saveth souls from rust;
The franchise which it giveth to tender hearts and true,
That ask no sordid wages and seek but others' due;
The faith that is not bounded,
And heeds no earthly shock—
These are our walls, and founded
On the Eternal Rock.
| English Roses | |