vii.
Hark!—a signal gun—another!
On the deck a man appears
Stately as the Ocean-shaker—
"Ye Athenians, lend your ears!
Thomas Wyse am I, a herald
Come to parley with the Greek;
Palmerston hath sent me hither,
In his awful name I speak—
Ye have done a deed of folly—one that ye shall sorely rue!
Wherefore did ye lay a finger on the carpets of the Jew?
viii.
"Don Pacifico of Malta!
Dull indeed were Britain's ear,
If the wrongs of such a hero
Tamely she could choose to hear!
Don Pacifico of Malta!
Knight-commander of the Fleece—
For his sake I hurl defiance
At the haughty towns of Greece.
Look to it—For by my head! since Xerxes crossed the strait,
Ye never saw an enemy so vengeful at your gate.
ix.
"Therefore now, restore the carpets,
With a forfeit twenty-fold;
And a goodly tribute offer
Of your treasure and your gold
Sapienza and the islet
Cervi, ye shall likewise cede,
So the mighty gods have spoken,
Thus hath Palmerston decreed!
Ere the sunset, let an answer issue from your monarch's lips;
In the mean time, I have orders to arrest your merchants' ships."
x.
Thus he spoke, and snatched a trumpet
Swiftly from a soldier's hand,
And therein he blew so shrilly,
That along the rocky strand
Rang the war-note, till the echoes
From the distant hills replied,
Hundred trumpets wildly wailing,
Poured their blast on every side;
And the loud and hearty shout of Britain rent the skies,
"Three cheers for noble Palmerston! another cheer for Wyse!"
xi.
Gentles! I am very sorry
That I can not yet relate,
Of this gallant expedition,
What has been the final fate.
Whether Athens was bombarded
For her Jew-coercing crimes,
Hath not been as yet reported
In the columns of the Times.
But the last accounts assure us of some valuable spoil:
Various coasting vessels, laden with tobacco, fruit, and oil.