 | Three Hundred Sonnets |  |
156
NELSON.
Well hast thou done thy duty, gallant son;What truer fame can greet a mortal's ear
Than duty's task heroically done?—
So are they hail'd, who better crowns have won:
Thou, to the patriot's soul so justly dear,
O let us blot thy failings with a tear,
And read alone the record of thy worth,
Man without pride, or hate, or fraud, or fear,
Who banish'd discord, and gave peace to earth,
Thine was the generous heart, though gentle, brave,
The will to bless, the godlike power to save:
What nobler pæan can the poet raise?
A glorious life, an honourable grave,
Trafalgar and Aboukir be thy praise!
| Three Hundred Sonnets | |