And, picking at my flowers, I said with free
And usual tone, ‘Oh, yes sir, certainly!’ ”
The Duke of Wellington is known as the “iron” duke, and Gaultier gives us a “Sonnet to Britain” by him, which justifies the title. It is one of the most original things in the volume, and very worthily concludes it:
“Halt! Shoulder arms! Recover! As you were!
Right wheel! Eyes left! Attention! Stand at ease!
O Britain! O my country! Words like these
Have made thy name a terror and a fear
To all the nations. Witness Ebro’s banks,
Assaye, Toulouse, Nivelle and Waterloo,
Where the grim despot muttered—Sauve qui peut!