Classic Poem

1.

Is this the Nuptial Song? with brow severe
Perchance the votaries of the world will say:
Are these fit strains for Royal ears to hear?
What man is he who thus assorts his lay,
And dares pronounce with inauspicious breath,
In Hymeneal verse, the name of Death?

2.

Remote from cheerful intercourse of men,
Hath he indulged his melancholy mood,
And, like the hermit in some sul'en den,
Fed his distemper'd mind in solitude?
Or have fanatic dreams distraught his sense,
That thus he should presume with bold irreverence?

3.

O Royal Lady, ill they judge the heart
That reverently approaches thee to-day,
And anxious to perform its fitting part,
Prefers the tribute of this duteous lay!
Not with displeasure should his song be read
Who prays for Heaven's best blessings on thy head.

4.

He prays that many a year may pass away
Ere the State call thee from a life of love;
Vex'd by no public cares, that day by day
Thy heart the dear domestic joys may prove,
And gracious Heaven thy chosen nuptials bless
With all a Wife's and all a Mother's happiness.

5.

He prays that, for thine own and England's sake,
The Virtues and the Household Charities
Their favor'd seat beside thy hearth may take;
That when the Nation thither turn their eyes,
There the conspicuous model they may find
Of all which makes the bliss of human-kind.

6.

He prays that, when the sceptre to thy hand
In due succession shall descend at length,
Prosperity and Peace may bless the Land,
Truth be thy counsellor, and Heaven thy strength;
That every tongue thy praises may proclaim,
And every heart in secret bless thy name.

7.

He prays that thou mayst strenuously maintain
The wise laws handed down from sire to son;
He prays that, under thy auspicious reign,
All may be added, which is left undone,
To make the realm, its polity complete,
In all things happy, as in all things great; —

8.

That, through the will of thy enlighten'd mind,
Brute man may be to social life reclaim'd;
That, in compassion for forlorn mankind,
The saving Faith may widely be proclaim'd
Through erring lands, beneath thy fostering care; —
This is his ardent hope, his loyal prayer.

9.

In every cottage may thy power be blest
For blessings which should every where abound;
Thy will, beneficent, from East to West,
May bring forth good where'er the sun goes round,
And thus, through future times, should C HARLOTTE'S fame
Surpass our great E LIZA'S golden name.

10.

Of awful subjects have I dared to sing;
Yet surely are they such, as, view'd aright,
Contentment to thy better mind may bring;
A strain which haply may thy heart invite
To ponder well how to thy choice is given
A glorious name on Earth, a high reward in Heaven.

11.

Light strains, though cheerful as the hues of spring,
Would wither like a wreath of vernal flowers;
The amaranthine garland which I bring
Shall keep its verdure through all after-hours; —
Yea, while the Poet's name is doom'd to live,
So long this garland shall its fragrance give.

12.

" Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: "
Thus said the Bard who spake of kingly cares;
But calmly may the Sovereign then lie down
When grateful Nations guard him with their prayers
How sweet a sleep awaits the Royal head
When these keep watch and ward around the bed.