CARMEN TRIUMPHALE,

FOR THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR

1814.

I.

IN happy hour doth he receive
The Laurel, meed of famous Bards of yore,
Which Dryden and diviner Spenser wore, ..
In happy hour, and well may he rejoice,
Whose earliest task must be

To raise the exultant hymn for victory,
And join a nation's joy with harp and voice,
Pouring the strain of triumph on the wind,
Glory to God, his song, Deliverance for Mankind!

II.

Wake, lute and harp! My soul take up the strain!
Glory to God! Deliverance for Mankind!

Joy... for all Nations, joy! But most for thee,
Who hast so nobly fill'd thy part assign'd,
O England! O my glorious native land!
For thou in evil days didst stand
Against leagued Europe all in arms array'd,
Single and undismay'd,

Thy hope in Heaven and in thine own right hand.
Now are thy virtuous efforts overpaid,

Thy generous counsels now their guerdon find,
Glory to God! Deliverance for Mankind!

III.

Dread was the strife, for mighty was the foe Who sought with his whole strength thy overthrow. The Nations bow'd before him; some in war Subdued, some yielding to superior art;

Submiss, they follow'd his victorious car. Their Kings, like Satraps, waited round his throne; For Britain's ruin and their own,

By force or fraud in monstrous league combined.
Alone, in that disastrous hour,

Britain stood firm and braved his power;
Alone she fought the battles of mankind.

IV.

O virtue which, above all former fame,
Exalts her venerable name!

O joy of joys for every British breast!
That with that mighty peril full in view,
The Queen of Ocean to herself was true!
That no weak heart, no abject mind possess'd
Her counsels, to abase her lofty crest,..
(Then had she sunk in everlasting shame,)
But ready still to succour the oppress'd,
Her Red Cross floated on the waves unfurl'd,
Offering Redemption to the groaning world.

V.

First from his trance the heroic Spaniard woke ; His chains he broke,

And casting off his neck the treacherous yoke,
He call'd on England, on his generous foe:
For well he knew that wheresoe'er
Wise policy prevail'd, or brave despair,
Thither would Britain's liberal succours flow,
Her arm be present there.

Then, too, regenerate Portugal display'd
Her ancient virtue, dormant all-too-long.
Rising against intolerable wrong,
On England, on her old ally, for aid
The faithful nation call'd in her distress:
And well that old ally the call obey'd,
Well was that faithful friendship then repaid.

VI.

Say from thy trophied field how well,
Vimeiro! Rocky Douro tell!

And thou, Busaco, on whose sacred height
The astonished Carmelite,

While those unwonted thunders shook his cell, Join'd with his prayers the fervour of the fight. Bear witness those Old Towers, where many a da Waiting with foresight calm the fitting hour, The Wellesley, gathering strength in wise delay, Defied the Tyrant's undivided power. Swore not the boastful Frenchman in his might, Into the sea to drive his Island-foe?

Tagus and Zezere, in secret night,

Ye saw that host of ruffians take their flight! And in the Sun's broad light

Onoro's Springs beheld their overthrow.

VII.

Patient of loss, profuse of life, Meantime had Spain endured the strife; And though she saw her cities yield, Her armies scatter'd in the field, Her strongest bulwarks fall; The danger undismay'd she view'd, Knowing that nought could e'er appal The Spaniards' fortitude.

What though the Tyrant, drunk with power, Might vaunt himself, in impious hour, Lord and Disposer of this earthly ball? Her cause is just, and Heaven is over all.

VIII.

Therefore no thought of fear debased
Her judgement, nor her acts disgraced.
To every ill, but not to shame resign'd,
All sufferings, all calamities she bore.
She bade the people call to mind
Their heroes of the days of yore,
Pelayo and the Campeador,
With all who once in battle strong,
Lived still in story and in song.
Against the Moor, age after age,
Their stubborn warfare did they wage;
Age after age, from sire to son,

The hallowed sword was handed down Nor did they from that warfare cease, And sheathe that hallowed sword in peace, Until the work was done.