 | English Roses |  |
OUR PIONEERS.
They are riding, they are riding past the outposts in the van,
Over deserts lone and dreary as they were since time began;
Through the solitude and silence, with the heavens above as brass
And the iron ground beneath them like a furnace, as they pass;
While the bleached and blasted remnants and the bones of younger earth,
And the skeletons of cities vast as worlds, bestrew the dearth
With the fragments of the fallen and the mighty that are dust,
Where the temples once were crowded and for ages wreaked their lust.
But they ride abroad in duty and they do not count the price,
If the lives they give are lavished in a solemn sacrifice;
For the honour of the nation which has sealed and sent them forth,
With her mandate and new charters from the freedom of the North.
Over deserts lone and dreary as they were since time began;
194
And the iron ground beneath them like a furnace, as they pass;
While the bleached and blasted remnants and the bones of younger earth,
And the skeletons of cities vast as worlds, bestrew the dearth
With the fragments of the fallen and the mighty that are dust,
Where the temples once were crowded and for ages wreaked their lust.
But they ride abroad in duty and they do not count the price,
If the lives they give are lavished in a solemn sacrifice;
For the honour of the nation which has sealed and sent them forth,
With her mandate and new charters from the freedom of the North.
They are sailing, they are sailing where no keel has voyaged yet,
Over tumbling bars and billows with adventuring canvas set;
In the toy boat, or with thunder of a floating fortress round
Driving back the ring of evil and enlarging freedom's bound;
At the helm of duty always going out to seek and save,
As the pioneers of progress—if they only leave a grave.
Wild the wind may rave and rally to destroy them, and the surge
Beat against them as they voyage with the fury of its scourge;
But across the sultry ocean or beneath the Arctic sky
They are speeding fearless forward with the foot of destiny.
They have bitted storms and bridled the great tideways with their law,
As they bear for God and country justice with its blessed awe.
Over tumbling bars and billows with adventuring canvas set;
In the toy boat, or with thunder of a floating fortress round
Driving back the ring of evil and enlarging freedom's bound;
At the helm of duty always going out to seek and save,
As the pioneers of progress—if they only leave a grave.
Wild the wind may rave and rally to destroy them, and the surge
Beat against them as they voyage with the fury of its scourge;
But across the sultry ocean or beneath the Arctic sky
They are speeding fearless forward with the foot of destiny.
They have bitted storms and bridled the great tideways with their law,
As they bear for God and country justice with its blessed awe.
195
They are standing, they are standing in the watchtowers of the East,
At the awful post of Duty 'mid the fiercer foe and beast;
Where the crag on precipices, perching like an eagle's nest,
Throws across a hundred mountains the red beacon in its breast.
With the ready sword and rifle, they are armoured most in pride—
That they keep the walls of England, which is watching at their side.
Through the blazing suns of noontide and the bitter cold and dark
There they stand with steadfast waiting, or lie down in ruin stark;
But they would not change their service and the burden that it brings,
For the bondage of the idle or the silken sloth of kings.
They uphold a famous Empire and our liberties and faith,
In that vantage-ground of glory which is not a passing wraith.
At the awful post of Duty 'mid the fiercer foe and beast;
Where the crag on precipices, perching like an eagle's nest,
Throws across a hundred mountains the red beacon in its breast.
With the ready sword and rifle, they are armoured most in pride—
That they keep the walls of England, which is watching at their side.
Through the blazing suns of noontide and the bitter cold and dark
There they stand with steadfast waiting, or lie down in ruin stark;
But they would not change their service and the burden that it brings,
For the bondage of the idle or the silken sloth of kings.
They uphold a famous Empire and our liberties and faith,
In that vantage-ground of glory which is not a passing wraith.
They are kneeling, they are kneeling and above a crimson sod,
When the battle rage is over—but they only kneel to God;
And they pray to Him for guidance, and they praise Him for the might
Which has bucklered them in peril and encompassed in the fight.
For they draw their grand commission and security of power
From the Lord of Hosts who sceptred their forefathers with His dower.
And they lean upon the bulwarks of His Providence, and march
To the music of His orders 'neath the heavens that overarch.
But the strength with which He clothes them, or the sharpness of their swords,
Cometh not from earthly treasures—but its secret is the Lord's.
So they cannot choose but conquer, and the darkness from them flees,
When the victory beforehand first was won upon their knees.
When the battle rage is over—but they only kneel to God;
And they pray to Him for guidance, and they praise Him for the might
Which has bucklered them in peril and encompassed in the fight.
For they draw their grand commission and security of power
From the Lord of Hosts who sceptred their forefathers with His dower.
And they lean upon the bulwarks of His Providence, and march
196
But the strength with which He clothes them, or the sharpness of their swords,
Cometh not from earthly treasures—but its secret is the Lord's.
So they cannot choose but conquer, and the darkness from them flees,
When the victory beforehand first was won upon their knees.
| English Roses | |