 | The poetical works (1829) |  |
INSCRIPTION
FOR A MONUMENT AT OLD SARUM
Reader, if thou canst boast the noble nameOf Englishman, it is enough to know
Thou standest in Old Sarum. But if, chance,
'Twas thy misfortune in some other land,
Inheritor of slavery, to be born,
Read and be envious! dost thou see yon hut,
Its old mud mossy walls with many a patch
Spotted? Know, foreigner! so wisely well
In England it is order'd, that the laws
Which bind the people, from themselves should spring;
Know that the dweller in that little hut,
That wretched hovel, to the senate sends
Two delegates. Think, foreigner, where such
An individual's rights, how happy all!
| The poetical works (1829) | |