Included among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty."—Ed.
Now that all hearts are glad, all faces bright,
Our aged Sovereign sits, to the ebb and flow
Of states and kingdoms, to their joy or woe,
Insensible. He sits deprived of sight,
And lamentably wrapped in twofold night, 5
Whom no weak hopes deceived; whose mind ensued,
Through perilous war, with regal fortitude,
Peace that should claim respect from lawless Might.
Dread King of Kings, vouchsafe a ray divine
To his forlorn condition! let thy grace 10
Upon his inner[1] soul in mercy shine;
Permit his heart to kindle, and to embrace[2]
(Though it were[3] only for a moment's space)
The triumphs of this hour; for they are Thine!
The reference is to the rejoicings on the Leipzig victory of the Allied Forces, October 16 to 19, 1813. Napoleon crossed the Rhine on the 2nd November, and returned to Paris with the wreck of his army. George III. was English Sovereign; but, owing to his illness, the Prince of Wales had been appointed Regent, and assumed executive power in January 1811. The King died at Windsor in 1820, being eighty-two years of age. He had been entirely blind for some years before his death. The "twofold night" referred to in the sonnet is sufficiently obvious.—Ed.
VARIANTS:
[1] 1815.
... inmost ... 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1815.
[2] C. and 1838.
... and embrace, 1815.