Shrieks of an agonising king![5]
She-wolf of France,[6] with unrelenting fangs
That tear’st the bowels of thy mangled mate,
From thee[7] be born who o’er thy country hangs
The scourge of Heaven. What terrors round him wait!
Amazement in his van, with Flight combined,
And Sorrow’s faded form, and Solitude behind.
II.—2.
“Mighty Victor, mighty
Lord,
Low on his funeral
couch[8] he lies!
No pitying heart, no eye afford
A tear to grace
his obsequies!
Is the sable warrior[9] fled?
Thy son is gone; he rests
among the dead.
The swarm that in thy noontide
beam were born,
Gone to salute the rising
morn:
Fair laughs the morn,[10]
and soft the Zephyr blows,
While, proudly
riding o’er the azure realm,
In gallant trim the gilded
vessel goes,
Youth on the prow,
and Pleasure at the helm,
Regardless of the sweeping
whirlwind’s sway,
That, hush’d in grim repose, expects
his evening prey.
II.—3.
“Fill high the sparkling
bowl,[11]
The rich repast
prepare;
Reft of a crown, he yet may
share the feast.
Close by the regal
chair
Fell Thirst and Famine scowl
A baleful smile upon the baffled
guest.
Heard ye the din of battle
bray,[12]
Lance to lance and horse to
horse?
Long years of havoc urge their
destined course,
And through the kindred squadrons
mow their way;
Ye Towers of Julius![13] London’s
lasting shame,
With many a foul
and midnight murder fed,
Revere his consort’s[14]
faith, his father’s[15] fame,
And spare the
meek usurper’s[16] holy head.
Above, below, the Rose of
snow,[17]
Twined with her
blushing foe, we spread;
The bristled Boar[18] in infant
gore
Wallows beneath
the thorny shade;
Now, Brothers! bending o’er
the accursed loom,
Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify
his doom.
III.—I.
“Edward, lo! to sudden
fate
(Weave we the
woof; the thread is spun:)
Half of thy heart[19] we consecrate;
(The web is wove;
the work is done.”)
’Stay, oh stay! nor
thus forlorn
Leave me unbless’d,
unpitied, here to mourn,
In yon bright track, that
fires the western skies,
They melt, they vanish from
my eyes.
But oh! what solemn scenes
on Snowdon’s height,
Descending slow,
their glittering skirts unroll!
Visions of glory! spare my
aching sight!
Ye unborn ages
crowd not on my soul!
No more our long-lost Arthur[20]
we bewail:
All hail, ye genuine Kings![21] Britannia’s
issue, hail!
III.—2.