Form, be ready to do or die! Form in Freedom's name and the Queen's! True, that we have a faithful ally, But only the Devil knows what he means. 25 Ready, be ready to meet the storm! LORD TENNYSON. 17. rotten borough. A reference to the agitation for Reform in the representation of boroughs, which was defeated in 1859 but carried in 1867. THE WHITE PACHA (1885) Charles George Gordon was commander of the Chinese Army that crushed the Taiping Rebellion in 1862. He was afterwards Governor-General of the Sudan, where he put down the slave trade. In 1884 he volunteered to go to the Sudan again to bring away the garrisons that were being besieged by the Mahdi. He was, however, hemmed in at Khartoum, and killed by the Mahdi's followers before the relief expedition sent from England could reach him. [See Punch's cartoon for February 14, 1885 -'Too Late ! '] No man ever exercised so great an influence on either Chinese or Sudanese as General Gordon. [The best biography is that by Sir William Butler, in English Men of Action Series.] VAIN is the dream! However Hope may rave, 5 ΙΟ 15 Had raised an army of the Desert men, 20 25 21. sacred River's shore. Khartoum is at the junction of the Blue and White Nile, the sacred river of the Egyptians. 24. Arthur. King Arthur. There was a tradition that after 'healing of his grievous wound' he would come again. According to Malory the inscription on his tomb was:- Here lies Arthur, erstwhile king, and king to be.' Charles. Charlemagne (d. 814), the king of the Franks, of whom it was also said that he would return from the dead. ADVANCE, AUSTRALIA (1885) This poem refers to the offer of help made by the Australians after the fall of Khartoum. SONS of the giant Ocean isle In sport our friendly foes for long, So fleet you are, so keen and strong. You, like that fairy people set Of old in their enchanted sea Might heed not aught but game and glee. But what your fathers were you are Your hearts are English, kind and true. And now, when first on England falls A. LANG. 5 ΙΟ 15 20 RECESSIONAL (1897) This poem was written on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of Victoria. GOD of our fathers, known of old- Dominion over palm and pine- The tumult and the shouting dies- An humble and a contrite heart. Far-call'd our navies melt away 5 IO On dune and headland sinks the fire 15 Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Or lesser breeds without the Law-- 21 For heathen heart that puts her trust R. KIPLING. 25 30 16. Nineveh. The ancient capital of Assyria, now in ruins. Tyre. Formerly one of the chief ports of the Phoenician empire. 21. Gentiles. The word used in the Old Testament for all peoples who did not follow the law of Moses; here applied to nations which glory in their power without keeping before them the ideals which should sanctify the possession of empire. ODE ON THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE (1898) Gladstone was the leader of the Liberal party for nearly thirty years. His chief political work was the disestablishment of the Irish Church, the enfranchisement of the agricultural labourer, and his attempt to settle the grievances of Ireland. The poem calls attention to his eloquence, his scholarship, his piety, his sympathy with the oppressed of all nations. [See Morley's Life of Gladstone.] GIVE thanks to God! our Hero is at rest Who more than all hath laboured, striven, aspired; And now hath won his sleep-the last-the best His soul desired. Now, though the warlike rumours swiftly run, Though mighty nations toss in fierce unrest, Though the harsh thunder of the throbbing gun Roars in the West, Here all is still: beneath his castle walls 5 Sprouts blade, and bush, and every tender thing, 10 And hark, the jocund throstle! how she calls To Hope and Spring! 26. shard] fragment of a shell. 11. jocund] merry. throstle] thrush. |