The hour is approaching, -a terrible hour! In a moment entombed in the horrible void, Shall this be the fate of the cane-planted isles, The blood of our ancestors nourished the tree; The voice of our fathers ascends from their oak. "Ye Britons, who dwell where we conquered of old, Who inherit our battle-field graves; Though poor were your fathers, - gigantic and bold, When the sun o'er the ocean descending in smiles, We were not, we could not be, slaves; Sinks softly and sweetly to rest? No! Father of mercy! befriend the opprest; And slave and his master devoutly unite To walk in thy freedom and dwell in thy light! As homeward my weary-winged Fancy extends Ah me! what new prospects, new horrors arise? All foaming, and panting with blood; For Britannia is wielding the trident to-day, And hurling her thunder with absolute sway But firm as our rocks, and as free as our waves, In the shipwreck of nations we stood up alone, ADDRESS TO THE OCEAN. O THOU vast Ocean! ever-sounding Sea ! She triumphs; the winds and the waters con- The earth has naught of this: no chance or change spire To spread her invincible name; The universe rings with her fame ; Ruffles its surface, and no spirits dare But the cries of the fatherless mix with her At will, and wound its bosom as they go: Ever the same, it hath no ebb, no flow : praise, And the tears of the widow are shed on her bays. But in their stated rounds the seasons come, O Britain, dear Britain! the land of my birth; And pass like visions to their wonted home ; Thou Pearl of the Ocean! thou Gem of the Earth! And Winter always winds his sullen horn, For wealth is a phantom, and empire a snare! Thy distant dominions like wild graftings shoot, When the wild Autumn, with a look forlorn, The root of thine oak, O my country! that I love to wander on thy pebbled beach, Rock-planted and flourishing free ; Marking the sunlight at the evening hour, And hearken to the thoughts thy waters teach, Its branches are stretched o'er the uttermost lands, Eternity - Eternity-and Power. And its shadow eclipses the sea. BARRY CORNWALL |