Page:Ode on the coronation of King Edward VII (Grote 1901).djvu/10



Now praise be given to God, the King of kings,

And anthems to the Lord of lords be sung

In loud hosannas! Let the bells proclaim

The day a joyous holiday for all!

A day for thankfulness and prayer to Him

In whom the king and queen and people trust;

A day for happiness! For, on this day,

A seventh Edward comes to England's throne,

And with him, Alexandra, Consort Queen—

A regal complement of kingly rule—

A rule wherein the king and parliament,

Within the laws unwritten, enact the laws

And guard the realm; a lasting rule, wherein

Security and right for all—is all!

And this is Britain's highest heritage—

Her birthright—and the purchase of her blood;

For, what availed great Alfred's reign, or what,

The great Confessor's? Or the heroic field

Where Harold fought, and William, conquering, came,

If mighty deeds and glorious death were all?

Who shall deny Britannia's ardent youth

The joy, the pride, the patriot fire he feels,

As, over flood and field, he fights once more—

And wins—the battles, by his fathers won!

But, is not victory, but a bubble, burst—

A shifting sand-bar on the shore of time—

If valour be all? What's in a vast array

Of fields well fought against a foreign foe,

If, to the victor, government be nought?

To govern well! As well as well to fight!

Shall yet be England's praise, as in the past!

Prestige of arms—to foreign policy—conjoined,

Regard for justice, international,

And for our well-tried form of government,

Withal, a holding fast to "what we have"—

Shall form a tangible prop, rock-like, secure!

And "Peace with honour" shall with power abound!

So shall the nations learn rather to love

England than fear the foes of liberty!

And all that's best in either hemisphere,

In every continent, in every land,

Shall wield a power invincible for peace.