 | Jubilate! |  |
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JUBILATE!
I.
He, that fifty years agoFrom the central arch look'd down
On that wondrous scene below,
Where Victoria took her crown,
When the Abbey, glittering bright
With all gems of wealth and worth,
Shed its consecrated light
On the fairest flower of earth,—
He, that thus beheld his Queen
On the birthday of her power,
Throned in majesty serene
In young beauty's graceful hour,—
He, that then with heart on fire
Pour'd his prophecy sublime
From the patriot's thrilling lyre
Mingled with the Abbey's chime,—
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This half century of time,
Lives to fling the champion gage
In this tournament of rhyme.
II.
For the poets of the landAll are eager to be seen
Celebrating, harp in hand,
This high triumph of their Queen,
Joying for the golden year
When,—the zenith of her days—
Lo,—her Jubilee is here,
Lo,—her fiftieth year of praise!
III.
Jubilate!—raise the songLoud with triumph deep and strong;
Let the trumpet swift and sharp
Meet the soft and loving harp,—
All ye sons of Music come,
Viol, cornet, flute, and drum,—
Clanging steeples, cannons' roar,
Hurl the joy from shore to shore,—
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Thrilling, joyous, loud and long,—
Jubilate! fling the sound
All the startled nations round,
Israel lost, and Israel found!
IV.
Yea: for Mother England standsGirt with children in all lands,
And her tenfold Tribes are seen
Bringing homage to their Queen,
Thanking God for all the praise
That has blest her many days,
And has brought her to this hour,
Crown'd with love and throned in power.
V.
O, Thou hast specially been blestAbove the greatest and the best
Who have won life's noblest gain,
The golden wedding of a reign!
For, though England proudly brings
A leash of her heroic kings,—
Henry, Magna Charta's rock,
Edward, of the Crécy stock,
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And lion-like Elizabeth,—
And these in company with thee
Precede thy royal Jubilee,
Yet is Victoria first and best,
Above them all supremely blest.
VI.
Who can touch the thousand themes,Memory pictures in her dreams,
Where the dead past lives again
In the glories of thy reign?
Fifty years of happy times
Spread and spreading through all climes,
Still progressive, striving still
To compass good and combat ill,
And from Beersheba to Dan
Blessing universal man!
Fifty years of gains untold,
Mines of gems and reefs of gold,
Victories won by sea and land,
Generous efforts nobly plann'd,
Wondrous works of toil and thought,
Deeds with grandest daring fraught,
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Vanquish'd for the human race,
Nature's secrets all display'd,
And Science shown Religion's aid!
All these, and more, of wealth and worth
The harvest of our teeming earth,
Have grown to ripeness in these days,
Through a half century of praise.
VII.
Queen and Empress!—God alone,Who fixed thy crown and built thy throne,
In this world of shadows now
Is higher, O my Queen, than thou,—
Servant to the King of Heaven!
Who to thee this gift has given,
Crowning with a Jubilee
Fifty years of love to thee:
Unto Him then yield the praise,
As thou wilt—and dost always!
VIII.
Queen and Empress! by God's graceChief of the Anglo-Saxon race,—
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Salutes for thee each rising sun;
All round the world in every scene
Rises thy hymn, “God save the Queen;”
And thy broad standard floats unfurl'd
On every shore all round the world.
IX.
Victoria, Queen and Empress, hail!If ever national prayers prevail
—And with Heaven's help they never fail,—
Thou shalt be blest as thou hast been,
Through life and death our English Queen!
Empress to all the world beside
With glittering pomp and power and pride,
But here, at home,—thy better part—
A Queen who reigns in every heart!
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VICTORIA'S JUBILEE (for Music).
I.
(Major forte.)Rejoice, O Land! Imperial Realm, rejoice!
Wherever round the world
Our standard floats unfurl'd,
Let every heart exult in music's voice!
Be glad, O grateful England,
Triumphant shout and sing, Land!
As from each belfried steeple
The clanging joy-bells sound,
Let all our happy people
The wondering world around,
Rejoice with the joy this Jubilee brings,
Circling the globe as with seraphim wings!
II.
(Minor piano.)Lo, the wondrous story,
Praise all praise above!
Fifty years of glory,
Fifty years of love!
Chastened by much sadness
'Mid the dark of death,
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By the sun of faith:
What a life, O Nations,
What a reign is seen
In the consummations
Crowning Britain's Queen!
III.
(Finale: crescendo.)
Riches of Earth, and Graces of Heaven,
God in His love hath abundantly given,
More by a year than seven times seven,
Blessing our Empress the Queen!
God in His love hath abundantly given,
More by a year than seven times seven,
Blessing our Empress the Queen!
Secrets of Science, and marvels of Art,
Health of the home, and wealth of the mart,
All that is best for the mind and the heart,
Crowded around her are seen.
Health of the home, and wealth of the mart,
All that is best for the mind and the heart,
Crowded around her are seen.
Honour, Religion, and Plenty are hers,
Peace, and all heavenly Messengers,
While loyalty every spirit upstirs
To shout aloud “God save the Queen!”
[The music as a majestic finale to include
touches of Rule Britannia, Luther's Hymn, and the National Anthem.]Peace, and all heavenly Messengers,
While loyalty every spirit upstirs
To shout aloud “God save the Queen!”
| Jubilate! | |