Britons to Arms!—of apathy beware,
And let your Country be your dearest care;
Protect your Altars! guard your Monarch’s throne,
The Cause of George and Freedom, make your own!
What! shall that England want her Sons’ support,
Whose Heroes fought at Cressy—Agincourt?
And when great Marlborough led the English Van,
In France, o’er Frenchmen triumphed to a man!
By Alfred’s great, and ever honoured, Name!
By Edward’s prowess, and by Henry’s fame!
By all the generous Blood for Freedom shed,
And by the Ashes of the Patriot Dead!
By the bright Glory Britons lately won,
On Egypt’s Plains, beneath the burning Sun!
Britons to Arms! defend your Country’s Cause,
Fight for your King! your Liberties; and Laws!
Be France defied, her slavish yoke abhor’d,
And place your safety only on your Sword.
The Gallic Despot, sworn your mortal Foe,
Now aims his last,—but his most deadly blow;
With England’s Plunder tempts his hungry Slaves,
And dares to brave you, on your Native Waves!
If Briton’s right be worth a Briton’s care,
To shield them from the Son of Rapine—swear!
Then to Invasion be defiance giv’n—
Your Cause is just—approv’d by Earth and Heaven.
Should adverse winds our gallant Fleet restrain,
To sweep his ‘bawbling[83] vessels’ from the main;
And Fate permit him on our Shores t’advance—
The Tyrant never shall return to France;
Fortune, herself, shall be no more his friend,
And here the Hist’ry of his Crimes shall end—
His slaughter’d Legions shall manure our shore,
And England never know Invasion more.
This was the stilted sort of stuff given to our forefathers, to inflame their patriotic zeal, and this example is of good quality compared to most. Here is another one, which I give, as having the music, published July 30, 1803:—
BRITONS TO ARMS!
Cheerly my hearts of cour - age true, The hour’s at hand to
try your worth; a glo - rious pe - ril waits for you, And
val - our pants to lead you forth. The Gal - lic fleet ap -
- proaches nigh, boys, Now some must conquer, some must die, boys; But
that ap - pals not you nor me, For our watchword,
it shall be: Brit - ons strike home, re- venge your coun-try’s
wrongs, Brit-ons strike home, re - venge your country’s wrongs.
2.
Undaunted Britons now shall prove
The Frenchman’s folly to invade
Our dearest rights, our country’s love,
Our laws, our freedom, and our trade;
On our white cliffs our colours fly, boys;
Which we’ll defend, or bravely die, boys;
For we are Britons bold and free,
And our watchword it shall be
Britons strike home, &c.
3.