Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/724

 THOMAS CAMPBELL

Our song and feast shall flow To the fame of your name,

When the storm has ceased to blow' When the fiery fight is heard no more,

And the storm has ceased to blow.

��59 1 The Battle of the Baltic

Nelson and the North Sing the glorious day's renown, When to battle fierce came forth All the might of Denmark's crown, And her arms along the deep proudly shone, By each gun the lighted brand In a bold determined hand, And the Prince of all the land Led them on.

Like leviathans afloat

Lay their bulwarks on the brine,

While the sign of battle flew

On the lofty British line.

It was ten of April morn by the chime

As they drifted on their path

There was silence deep as death,

And the boldest held his breath

For a time.

But the might of England flush'd To anticipate the scene; And her van the fleeter rush'd O'er the deadly space between: 'Hearts of oak'' our captains cried, when each gun

�� �