WILLIAM v. THE WORLD.
Doubtless you feel that such a fight
Would be a huge réclame for Hundom;
That Earth would stagger at the sight
Of Gulielmus contra Mundum;
That WILLIAM, facing awful odds,
Should prove a spectacle for men and gods.
('Tis true you have Allies who share
The toll you levy for the shambles,
Yet, judging by the frills you wear
In this your most forlorn of gambles,
One might suppose you stood alone
In solitary splendour all your own.)
And if the game against you goes,
As seems, I take it, fairly certain,
The Hero, felled by countless foes,
Should make a rather useful curtain;
You could with honour cry for grace,
Having preserved the thing you call your face.
I shouldn't count too much on that.
The globe is patient, slow and pensive,
But has a way of crushing flat
The objects which it finds offensive;
And when it's done with you, my brave,
I doubt if you will have a face to save.
O. S.