London lyrics by Frederick Locker Lampson: With introduction and notes by Austin Dobson |
 |
THE OLD OAK-TREE AT HATFIELD BROADOAK |
 | London lyrics |  |
31
THE OLD OAK-TREE AT HATFIELD BROADOAK
A mighty growth! The county side
Lamented when the Giant died,
For England loves her trees:
What misty legends round him cling;
How lavishly he once could fling
His acorns to the breeze!
Lamented when the Giant died,
For England loves her trees:
What misty legends round him cling;
How lavishly he once could fling
His acorns to the breeze!
Who struck a thousand roots in fame,
Who gave the district half its name,
Will not be soon forgotten:
Last spring he show'd but one green bough,
The red leaves hang there yet,—and now
His very props are rotten!
Who gave the district half its name,
Will not be soon forgotten:
Last spring he show'd but one green bough,
The red leaves hang there yet,—and now
His very props are rotten!
Elate, the thunderbolt he braved,
For centuries his branches waved
A welcome to the blast;
From reign to reign he bore a spell;
No forester had dared to fell
What time has fell'd at last.
For centuries his branches waved
A welcome to the blast;
From reign to reign he bore a spell;
No forester had dared to fell
What time has fell'd at last.
32
The Monarch wore a leafy crown,
And wolves, ere wolves were hunted down,
Found shelter in his gloom;
Unnumber'd squirrels frolick'd free,
Glad music fill'd the gallant Tree
From stem to topmost bloom.
And wolves, ere wolves were hunted down,
Found shelter in his gloom;
Unnumber'd squirrels frolick'd free,
Glad music fill'd the gallant Tree
From stem to topmost bloom.
It's hard to say, 'twere vain to seek
When first he ventured forth, a meek
Petitioner for dew;
No Saxon spade disturb'd his root,
The rabbit spared the tender shoot,
And valiantly he grew,
When first he ventured forth, a meek
Petitioner for dew;
No Saxon spade disturb'd his root,
The rabbit spared the tender shoot,
And valiantly he grew,
And show'd some inches from the ground
When St. Augustine came and found
Us very proper Vandals:
Then nymphs had bluer eyes than hose;
England then measured men by blows,
And measured time by candles.
When St. Augustine came and found
Us very proper Vandals:
Then nymphs had bluer eyes than hose;
England then measured men by blows,
And measured time by candles.
The pilgrim bless'd his grateful shade
Ere Richard led the first crusade;
And maidens loved to dance
Where, boy and man, in summer-time,
Chaucer had ponder'd o'er his rhyme;
And Robin Hood, perchance,
Ere Richard led the first crusade;
And maidens loved to dance
Where, boy and man, in summer-time,
Chaucer had ponder'd o'er his rhyme;
And Robin Hood, perchance,
33
Stole hither to Maid Marian;
(Well, if they did not come, one can
At any rate suppose it);
They met beneath the mistletoe,—
We've done the same, and ought to know
The reason why they chose it!
(Well, if they did not come, one can
At any rate suppose it);
They met beneath the mistletoe,—
We've done the same, and ought to know
The reason why they chose it!
And this was call'd the Traitor's Branch,
Stern Warwick hung six yeomen stanch
Along its mighty fork;
Uncivil wars for them! The fair
Red rose and white still bloom, but where
Are Lancaster and York?
Stern Warwick hung six yeomen stanch
Along its mighty fork;
Uncivil wars for them! The fair
Red rose and white still bloom, but where
Are Lancaster and York?
Right mournfully his leaves he shed
To shroud the graves of England's dead,
By English falchion slain;
And cheerfully, for England's sake,
He sent his kin to sea with Drake,
When Tudor humbled Spain.
To shroud the graves of England's dead,
By English falchion slain;
And cheerfully, for England's sake,
He sent his kin to sea with Drake,
When Tudor humbled Spain.
While Blake was fighting with the Dutch
They gave his poor old arms a crutch;
And thrice-four maids and men ate
A meal within his rugged bark,
When Coventry bewitch'd the Park,
And Chatham ruled the Senate.
They gave his poor old arms a crutch;
And thrice-four maids and men ate
A meal within his rugged bark,
When Coventry bewitch'd the Park,
And Chatham ruled the Senate.
34
His few remaining boughs were green,
And dappled sunbeams danced between
Upon the dappled deer,
When, clad in black, two mourners met
To read the Waterloo Gazette,—
They mourn'd their darling here.
And dappled sunbeams danced between
Upon the dappled deer,
When, clad in black, two mourners met
To read the Waterloo Gazette,—
They mourn'd their darling here.
They join'd their Boy. The Tree at last
Lies prone, discoursing of the past,
Some fancy-dreams awaking;
At rest, though headlong changes come,
Though nations arm to roll of drum,
And dynasties are quaking.
Lies prone, discoursing of the past,
Some fancy-dreams awaking;
At rest, though headlong changes come,
Though nations arm to roll of drum,
And dynasties are quaking.
Romantic Spot! By honest pride
Of old tradition sanctified;
My pensive vigil keeping,
Thy beauty moves me like a spell,
And thoughts, and tender thoughts, upwell,
That fill my heart to weeping.
Of old tradition sanctified;
My pensive vigil keeping,
Thy beauty moves me like a spell,
And thoughts, and tender thoughts, upwell,
That fill my heart to weeping.
The Squire affirms, with gravest look,
His Oak goes back to Domesday Book:
And some say even higher!
We rode last week to see the Ruin,
We love the fair domain it grew in,
And well we love the Squire.
His Oak goes back to Domesday Book:
And some say even higher!
35
We love the fair domain it grew in,
And well we love the Squire.
A nature loyally controll'd,
And fashion'd in that righteous mould
Of English gentleman;
My child some day will read these rhymes,
She loved her “godpapa” betimes,—
The little Christian!
And fashion'd in that righteous mould
Of English gentleman;
My child some day will read these rhymes,
She loved her “godpapa” betimes,—
The little Christian!
I love the Past, its ripe pleasànce,
And lusty thought, and dim romance,—
Its heart-compelling ditties;
But more, these ties, in mercy sent,
With faith and true affection blent,
And, wanting them, I were content
To murmur, “Nunc dimittis.”
And lusty thought, and dim romance,—
Its heart-compelling ditties;
But more, these ties, in mercy sent,
With faith and true affection blent,
And, wanting them, I were content
To murmur, “Nunc dimittis.”
Hallingbury, April 1859.
| London lyrics | |