Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. With A Memoir of the Author. In Two Volumes |
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DEAR HARP OF OLD ERIN. |
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 | Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems |  |
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DEAR HARP OF OLD ERIN.
I
Dear Harp of old Erin! let loyalty wakenThy liveliest strain on this festival day:
Oh! ne'er may the warmth of our duty be shaken,
Oh! ne'er may our patriot feelings decay.
Whilst faction is basely or blindly employ'd
'Gainst the laws, which our fathers in honour enjoy'd,
Let the loyal exert ev'ry voice, ev'ry nerve,
For the land they adore, and the monarch they serve.
George the IVth, George the IVth! fill each glass to the brim,
This roof shall resound with good wishes to him.
II
He came to the brightest and greenest of isles,Where the hearts that are warmest exult in his sway;
Where if errors exist, hospitality's smiles
Have a charm to chase trivial errors away.
Yes, he came, where no monarch for ages had stood,
Save when arm'd with the terrors of warfare and blood!
He landed, without the proud pomp of a court,
With the love of his people his shield and support.
George the IVth, George the IVth! &c.
III
Yes, Erin has bless'd him, though cynics may sneerAt a zeal and a loyalty foreign to them;
Tho' a trace of their national warmth may appear
In their welcome, the coldest alone will condemn.
Her voice has not bless'd him in vain, she has shown
That a bulwark of loyalty circles the throne;
And in England, she'll find kindred spirits to share
In the union of hearts that bids treason despair.
George the IVth, George the IVth! &c.
207
IV
Then hail to our sov'reign, we'll show him, with pride,His adherents are now neither feeble nor few,
And would rather maintain a dominion long tried
Than raise a new system, because it is new.
In the cause be all hearts energetic and warm,
And the ship may triumphantly weather the storm;
In calm or in tempest we'll stand on the deck,
And fight for its safety, or sink with the wreck!
George the IVth, George the IVth! &c.
V
When he, who had liv'd in the love of the nation,In solitude pass'd his life's darken'd decline,
And to thee had devolv'd his responsible station,
His course, and the friends he had chosen, were thine.
Thou hast prov'd that a father's designs were more dear
Than the sycophants painting thy early career,
Those baffled deluders that choice may condemn,
The successes it caused have been hateful to them.
George the IVth, George the IVth! &c.
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