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69
1805.
II.
The fight was long;—and deep in blood
Britain's triumphant warriors stood:
High, o'er the wave, untorn, unstain'd,
The ensigns of her glory reign'd:
Around, the wreck'd and vanquish'd pride
Of hostile navies strew'd the tide;
Or scatter'd, as the tempest bore,
Their ruins on the affrighted shore.
The haughty hopes of France and Spain,
Had dream'd of conquest's laurel crown—
O! vision, arrogant and vain!—
Nelson has swept them from the main,
And dash'd their airy trophies down:
Their fancied wreaths his brow adorn,
Won by his valour, in his triumph worn.
Britain's triumphant warriors stood:
High, o'er the wave, untorn, unstain'd,
The ensigns of her glory reign'd:
Around, the wreck'd and vanquish'd pride
Of hostile navies strew'd the tide;
Or scatter'd, as the tempest bore,
Their ruins on the affrighted shore.
70
Had dream'd of conquest's laurel crown—
O! vision, arrogant and vain!—
Nelson has swept them from the main,
And dash'd their airy trophies down:
Their fancied wreaths his brow adorn,
Won by his valour, in his triumph worn.
But, hark! amidst the joyous shout,
For Spain's defeat, and France's rout:
But, hark! amidst the glad acclaim
Of England's honour, Nelson's fame,
What deep and sullen sounds arise?
Are these, alas! victorious cries?
Boad they a widow'd nation's woe;
The triumph vain, and Nelson low?—
In his full glory's brightest blaze,
On the high summit of his deeds,
While Victory's saintly halo plays,
With living fire,—immortal rays,—
Around his head, the Hero bleeds;
In pomp of death, to mortal eyes
Never before revealed, the Hero dies.
For Spain's defeat, and France's rout:
But, hark! amidst the glad acclaim
Of England's honour, Nelson's fame,
What deep and sullen sounds arise?
Are these, alas! victorious cries?
71
The triumph vain, and Nelson low?—
In his full glory's brightest blaze,
On the high summit of his deeds,
While Victory's saintly halo plays,
With living fire,—immortal rays,—
Around his head, the Hero bleeds;
In pomp of death, to mortal eyes
Never before revealed, the Hero dies.
He dies! but while on Egypt's strand
The Ptolomean tower shall stand;—
Stain'd with the turbid streams of Nile,
While seas shall beat Aboukir's isle;—
While the white ocean breaks and roars
On Trafalgar's immortal shores;—
While high St. Vincent's towery steep,
And, giant of the Atlantic deep,
Dark Teneriffe, like beacons, guide
The wanderers of the western wave;
Sublime shall stand, amid the tide
Of baffled Time,—his country's pride—
The sacred memory of the brave;
And Nelson's emulated name
Shine the proud sea-mark to the ports of Fame!
The Ptolomean tower shall stand;—
Stain'd with the turbid streams of Nile,
While seas shall beat Aboukir's isle;—
72
On Trafalgar's immortal shores;—
While high St. Vincent's towery steep,
And, giant of the Atlantic deep,
Dark Teneriffe, like beacons, guide
The wanderers of the western wave;
Sublime shall stand, amid the tide
Of baffled Time,—his country's pride—
The sacred memory of the brave;
And Nelson's emulated name
Shine the proud sea-mark to the ports of Fame!
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