The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay With Illustrations by John Gilbert |
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| XII. |
THE DEPARTURE OF MERLIN. |
 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
THE DEPARTURE OF MERLIN.
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[It is recorded in ancient legends, that when Merlin, the great seer and enchanter of the early Britons, set sail from England on that northern voyage whence he never returned, he sailed in a vessel of glass; and that the Britons, sorely distressed and perplexed, implored him to grant them a final boon in the shape of a wall of brass to encircle the whole island.]
I
Ere Merlin departed, and spread the bright sailOf his vessel of glass to the favouring gale,
The Britons lamenting, his pity implored,
And pray'd him to tarry, their teacher and lord.
“Return,” they exclaim'd, “be our guide and our friend,
“And build us, O Merlin, a wall to defend!
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II
“A rampart of brass to encircle our isle,“That foes may not enter by force or by guile:
“Their numbers are many, their captains are strong;
“They ravage our coasts, and have plunder'd us long.
“O Merlin! great Merlin! thy promise we claim,
“And ages unnumber'd shall hallow thy name!”
III
A voice from the ship sounded loud o'er the land:“Unworthy of freedom, why sleeps the right hand?
“Who hides under ramparts with blood in his veins,
“But welcomes the tyrant, and sues for his chains.
“Degenerate Britons! ye shame of the sea!
“The souls of the brave are the walls of the free!”
IV
In tempest and lightning great Merlin set forth,And turn'd his weird ship to the mists of the North;
But ever an echo came over the wave,—
“A nation's defence is the souls of the brave!”
The Britons, sad-hearted, remain'd on the shore;
But Merlin was seen in their isles never more.
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |