When thy great soul was freed from mortal chains,
Darling of England! many a bitter shower
Fell on thy tomb; but emulative power
Flowed in thy line through undegenerate veins.[79]
The Race of Alfred covet[80] glorious pains[81] 5
When dangers threaten, dangers ever new!
Black tempests bursting, blacker still in view!
But manly sovereignty its hold retains;
The root sincere, the branches bold to strive
With the fierce tempest, while,[82] within the round 10
Of their protection, gentle virtues thrive;
As oft, 'mid some green plot of open ground,
Wide as the oak extends its dewy gloom,
The fostered hyacinths spread their purple bloom.[83]
FOOTNOTES:
[79] 1837.
Can aught survive to linger in the veins
Of kindred bodies—an essential power
That may not vanish in one fatal hour,
And wholly cast away terrestrial chains? 1822.
[80] 1832.
... covets ... 1822.
[81] In Eadward the elder, his son; Eadmund I., his grandson; Eadward (the Martyr), grandson of Eadmund I.; and Eadward (the Confessor), nephew to the Martyr.—Ed.
[82] 1827.
... to thrive
With the fierce storm; meanwhile, ... 1822.
[83] As, pre-eminently, in the wood by the road, half-way from Rydal to Ambleside.—Ed.