O God! how sweet it were to think, that all
Who silent mourn around this gloomy ball
Might hear the voice of joy;—but 'tis the will
Of man's great Author, that thro' good and ill 10
Calm he should hold his course, and so sustain
His varied lot of pleasure, toil and pain!
1793
['These lines,' which 'were found in Mr. Coleridge's handwriting in one of the Prayer Books in the Chapel of Jesus College, Cambridge,' were first published in Lit. Rem., 1836, i. 34. They were first collected in P. W., 1885, i. 127. The first six lines are (see P. W., 1893, p. 474) taken from Bowles's elegy 'On the Death of Henry Headley'. J. D. Campbell surmised that the last six lines 'practically belonged to the same poem', but of this there is no evidence. The note of the elegy is a lament for the 'untimely sorrow' which had befallen an innocent sufferer, and the additional lines, which Coleridge composed or quoted, moralized the theme.
Note. Bowles wrote, I, alas, remain (l. 1), and 'Ordain'd for virtue' (l. 5).]
16
NAPOLEON
Then we may thank ourselves,
Who spell-bound by the magic name of Peace
Dream golden dreams. Go, warlike Britain, go,
For the grey olive-branch change thy green laurels:
Hang up thy rusty helmet, that the bee 5
May have a hive, or spider find a loom!
Instead of doubling drum and thrilling fife
Be lull'd in lady's lap with amorous flutes:
But for Napoleon, know, he'll scorn this calm:
The ruddy planet at his birth bore sway, 10
Sanguine adust his humour, and wild fire
His ruling element. Rage, revenge, and cunning
Make up the temper of this Captain's valour.
Adapted from an old Play.
First published in The Friend, 1818, ii. 115. In later editions the word 'Adapted' was omitted. First collected in 1893.