 | The Emperor's Vigil, and The Waves And The War |  |
16
IV The Words of the West.
I fight for the rights of the free, said the West,
I fight for the rights of the free;
And I come from the lands that Peace loves best,
And the sovereign Isles of the Sea;
From the isles that rest
On the blue wave's breast,
Like thrones for the Queen of the Sea.
I fight for the rights of the free;
And I come from the lands that Peace loves best,
And the sovereign Isles of the Sea;
From the isles that rest
On the blue wave's breast,
Like thrones for the Queen of the Sea.
I fight not for kingdoms or gold, said the West,
Not for riches, dominion, or might;
But for what is worth more to the manly breast,—
For the triumph of human right;
And the fetters to wrest from the weak and oppressed,
And the tyrant of nations to smite.
Not for riches, dominion, or might;
But for what is worth more to the manly breast,—
For the triumph of human right;
And the fetters to wrest from the weak and oppressed,
And the tyrant of nations to smite.
17
'Tis true that I covet in peace to bide,
And shudder at carnage and strife,
And value more highly than all earth's pride
The blood of one human life:
In my strength's calm reliance I blazoned it wide,
And you thought I was panic-rife.
And shudder at carnage and strife,
And value more highly than all earth's pride
The blood of one human life:
In my strength's calm reliance I blazoned it wide,
And you thought I was panic-rife.
'Tis true that I barter, and sell, and buy,
And that war is prosperity's grave;
Yet because I am wealthy, no craven am I,
Nor fettered as Mammon's slave;
And my blood is as warm and my heart as high
As that of the blustering knave.
And that war is prosperity's grave;
Yet because I am wealthy, no craven am I,
Nor fettered as Mammon's slave;
And my blood is as warm and my heart as high
As that of the blustering knave.
'Tis true that I trusted the word you passed,
And reposed on your base guarantee,
And that I slowly treated while you armed fast,
For I thought you had honour like me;
But hope not to baffle and cheat me at last,
Tho' crafty as Satan you be.
And reposed on your base guarantee,
And that I slowly treated while you armed fast,
For I thought you had honour like me;
But hope not to baffle and cheat me at last,
Tho' crafty as Satan you be.
18
'Tis true that your cunning, our councils to mar,
Its mean royal sycophants sends;
That foes are amidst us as well as afar,
And the worst are the seeming friends,
Who would turn the tide of a nation's war
To their own petty selfish ends.
Its mean royal sycophants sends;
That foes are amidst us as well as afar,
And the worst are the seeming friends,
Who would turn the tide of a nation's war
To their own petty selfish ends.
But they yet shall learn there's a manly sense
In the midst of my Western land,
That dynasties are but an idle pretence
When in Liberty's way they stand,
And that rights of nations are not bartered hence
With a young lady's delicate hand.
In the midst of my Western land,
That dynasties are but an idle pretence
When in Liberty's way they stand,
And that rights of nations are not bartered hence
With a young lady's delicate hand.
There is metal yet of the selfsame ore
That the sword of a Sydney made;
There are hearts that are sound to the inmost core,
Uncankered by traffic and trade;
And the world shall find I can rise once more,
And strike in the new crusade.
That the sword of a Sydney made;
There are hearts that are sound to the inmost core,
Uncankered by traffic and trade;
And the world shall find I can rise once more,
And strike in the new crusade.
19
For I fight for the rights of the free, said the West,
Nor for riches, dominion, or might;
But for what is worth more to the manly breast,
For the triumph of human right;
And the fetters to wrest
From the weak and oppressed,
And the tyrant of nations to smite.
Nor for riches, dominion, or might;
But for what is worth more to the manly breast,
For the triumph of human right;
And the fetters to wrest
From the weak and oppressed,
And the tyrant of nations to smite.
| The Emperor's Vigil, and The Waves And The War | |