Ode written after the King's Visit to Ireland
WRITTEN AFTER THE KING'S VISIT TO IRELAND .
1.
How long, O Ireland, from thy guilty ground
Shall innocent blood
Arraign the inefficient arm of Power?
How long shall Murder there,
Leading his banded ruffians through the land,
Range unrepress'd?
How long shall Night
Bring to thy harmless dwellers, in the stead
Of natural rest, the feverish sleep of fear,
Midnight alarms,
Horrible dreams, and worse realities?
How long shall darkness cover, and the eye
Of Morning open, upon deeds of death?
2.
In vain art thou, by liberal Nature's dower,
Exuberantly blest;
The Seasons, in their course,
Shed o'er thy hills and vales
The bounties of a genial clime in vain;
Heaven hath in vain bestowed
Well-tempered liberty,
(Its last and largest boon to social man,)
If the brute Multitude, from age to age,
Wild as their savage ancestors,
Go irreclaim'd the while,
From sire to son transmitting still,
In undisturb'd descent,
(A sad inheritance!)
Their errors and their crimes
3.
Green Island of the West!
Thy Sister Kingdom fear'd not this,
When thine exultant shores
Rung far and wide of late,
And grateful Dublin first beheld her King,
First of thy Sovereigns he
Who visited thy shores in peace and joy.
4.
Oh what a joy was there!
In loud huzzas prolong'd,
Surge after surge the tide
Of popular welcome rose;
And in the intervals alone
Of that tumultuous sound of glad acclaim,
Could the deep cannon's voice
Of duteous gratulation, though it spake
In thunder, reach the ear.
From every tower the merry bells rung round,
Peal hurrying upon peal,
Till with the still reverberating din
The walls and solid pavement seem'd to shake,
And every bosom with the tremulous air
Inhaled a dizzy joy.
5.
Age, that came forth to gaze,
That memorable day
Felt in its quicken'd veins a pulse like youth;
And lisping babes were taught to bless their King;
And grandsires bade the children treasure up
The precious sight, for it would be a tale
The which in their old age
Would make their children's children gather round
Intent, all ears to hear
6.
Were then the feelings of that generous time
Ephemeral as the joy?
Pass'd they away like summer clouds,
Like dreams of infancy,
Like glories of the evening firmament,
Which fade, and leave no trace?
Merciful Heaven, oh, let not thou the hope
Be frustrate, that our Sister Isle may reap,
From the good seed then sown,
Full harvests of prosperity and peace;
That perfect union may derive its date
From that auspicious day,
And equitable ages thence
Their lasting course begin!
7.
Green Island of the West,
While frantic violence delays
That happier order, still must thou remain
In thine own baleful darkness wrapp'd;
As if the Eye divine,
That which beholdeth all, from thee alone
In wrath had turn'd away!
8.
But not forever thus shalt thou endure,
To thy reproach, and ours,
Thy misery, and our shame!
For Mercy shall go forth
To stablish Order, with an arm'd right hand;
And firm Authority,
With its all-present strength, control the bad,
And, with its all-sufficient shield,
Protect the innocent:
The first great duty this of lawful Power,
Which holds its delegated right from Heaven.
9.
The first great duty this; but this not all;
For more than comes within the scope
Of Power, is needed here;
More than to watch insidious discontent,
Curb, and keep curb'd, the treasonable tongue,
And quell the madden'd multitude:
Labors of love remain;
To weed out noxious customs rooted deep
In a rank soil, and long left seeding there;
Pour balm into old wounds, and bind them up;
Remove remediable ills,
Improve the willing mind,
And win the generous heart.
Afflicted Country, from thyself
Must this redemption come;
And thou hast children able to perform
This work of faith and hope
10.
O for a voice that might recal!
To their deserted hearths
Thy truant sons! a voice
Whose virtuous cogency
Might with the strength of duty reach their souls
A strength that should compel entire consent,
And to their glad obedience give
The impulse and the force of free good-will!
For who but they can knit
The severed links of that appointed chain,
Which when in just cohesion it unites
Order to order, rank to rank,
In mutual benefit,
So binding heart to heart,
It then connecteth Earth with Heaven, from whence
The golden links depend.
11.
Nor when the war is waged
With Error, and the brood
Of Darkness, will your aid
Be wanting in the cause of Light and Love,
Ye Ministers of that most holy Church,
Whose firm foundations on the rock
Of Scripture rest secure!
What though the Romanist, in numbers strong,
In misdirected zeal
And bigotry's blind force,
Assail your Fortress; though the sons of Schism
Join in insane alliance with that old,
Inveterate enemy,
Weening thereby to wreak
Their covenanted hatred, and effect
Your utter overthrow;
What though the unbelieving crew,
For fouler purpose, aid the unnatural league;
And Faction's wolfish pack
Set up their fiercest yell, to augment
The uproar of assault;
Clad in your panoply will ye be found,
Wielding the spear of Reason, with the sword
Of Scripture girt; and from your shield of Truth
Such radiance shall go forth,
As when, unable to sustain its beams
On Arthur's arm unveil'd,
Earth-born Orgoglio reel'd, as if with wine;
And, from her many-headed beast cast down,
Duessa fell, her cup of sorcery spilt,
Her three-crown'd mitre in the dust devolved,
And all her secret filthiness exposed.
12.
O thou fair Island, with thy Sister Isle
Indissolubly link'd for weal and woe;
Partaker of her present power,
Her everlasting fame;
Dear pledges hast thou render'd and received
Of that eternal union! Bedell's grave
Is in thy keeping; and with thee
Deposited doth Taylor's holy dust
Await the Archangel's call.
O land profuse of genius and of worth,
Largely hast thou received, and largely given!
13.
Green Island of the West,
The example of unspotted Ormond's faith
To thee we owe; to thee
Boyle's venerable name;
Berkeley the wise, the good;
And that great Orator who first
Unmask'd the harlot sorceress Anarchy,
What time, in Freedom's borrowed form profaned,
She to the nations round
Her draught of witchcraft gave;
And him who in the field
O'erthrew her giant offspring in his strength,
And brake the iron rod.
Proud of such debt,
Rich to be thus indebted, these,
Fair Island, Sister Queen
Of Ocean, Ireland, these to thee we owe.
14.
Shall I then imprecate
A curse on them that would divide
Our union? — Far be this from me, O Lord!
Far be it! What is man,
That he should scatter curses? — King of Kings,
Father of all, Almighty, Governor
Of all things! unto Thee
Humbly I offer up our holier prayer!
I pray Thee, not in wrath,
But in thy mercy, to confound
These men's devices. Lord!
Lighten their darkness with thy Gospel light,
And thus abate their pride,
Assuage their malice thus!
1.
How long, O Ireland, from thy guilty ground
Shall innocent blood
Arraign the inefficient arm of Power?
How long shall Murder there,
Leading his banded ruffians through the land,
Range unrepress'd?
How long shall Night
Bring to thy harmless dwellers, in the stead
Of natural rest, the feverish sleep of fear,
Midnight alarms,
Horrible dreams, and worse realities?
How long shall darkness cover, and the eye
Of Morning open, upon deeds of death?
2.
In vain art thou, by liberal Nature's dower,
Exuberantly blest;
The Seasons, in their course,
Shed o'er thy hills and vales
The bounties of a genial clime in vain;
Heaven hath in vain bestowed
Well-tempered liberty,
(Its last and largest boon to social man,)
If the brute Multitude, from age to age,
Wild as their savage ancestors,
Go irreclaim'd the while,
From sire to son transmitting still,
In undisturb'd descent,
(A sad inheritance!)
Their errors and their crimes
3.
Green Island of the West!
Thy Sister Kingdom fear'd not this,
When thine exultant shores
Rung far and wide of late,
And grateful Dublin first beheld her King,
First of thy Sovereigns he
Who visited thy shores in peace and joy.
4.
Oh what a joy was there!
In loud huzzas prolong'd,
Surge after surge the tide
Of popular welcome rose;
And in the intervals alone
Of that tumultuous sound of glad acclaim,
Could the deep cannon's voice
Of duteous gratulation, though it spake
In thunder, reach the ear.
From every tower the merry bells rung round,
Peal hurrying upon peal,
Till with the still reverberating din
The walls and solid pavement seem'd to shake,
And every bosom with the tremulous air
Inhaled a dizzy joy.
5.
Age, that came forth to gaze,
That memorable day
Felt in its quicken'd veins a pulse like youth;
And lisping babes were taught to bless their King;
And grandsires bade the children treasure up
The precious sight, for it would be a tale
The which in their old age
Would make their children's children gather round
Intent, all ears to hear
6.
Were then the feelings of that generous time
Ephemeral as the joy?
Pass'd they away like summer clouds,
Like dreams of infancy,
Like glories of the evening firmament,
Which fade, and leave no trace?
Merciful Heaven, oh, let not thou the hope
Be frustrate, that our Sister Isle may reap,
From the good seed then sown,
Full harvests of prosperity and peace;
That perfect union may derive its date
From that auspicious day,
And equitable ages thence
Their lasting course begin!
7.
Green Island of the West,
While frantic violence delays
That happier order, still must thou remain
In thine own baleful darkness wrapp'd;
As if the Eye divine,
That which beholdeth all, from thee alone
In wrath had turn'd away!
8.
But not forever thus shalt thou endure,
To thy reproach, and ours,
Thy misery, and our shame!
For Mercy shall go forth
To stablish Order, with an arm'd right hand;
And firm Authority,
With its all-present strength, control the bad,
And, with its all-sufficient shield,
Protect the innocent:
The first great duty this of lawful Power,
Which holds its delegated right from Heaven.
9.
The first great duty this; but this not all;
For more than comes within the scope
Of Power, is needed here;
More than to watch insidious discontent,
Curb, and keep curb'd, the treasonable tongue,
And quell the madden'd multitude:
Labors of love remain;
To weed out noxious customs rooted deep
In a rank soil, and long left seeding there;
Pour balm into old wounds, and bind them up;
Remove remediable ills,
Improve the willing mind,
And win the generous heart.
Afflicted Country, from thyself
Must this redemption come;
And thou hast children able to perform
This work of faith and hope
10.
O for a voice that might recal!
To their deserted hearths
Thy truant sons! a voice
Whose virtuous cogency
Might with the strength of duty reach their souls
A strength that should compel entire consent,
And to their glad obedience give
The impulse and the force of free good-will!
For who but they can knit
The severed links of that appointed chain,
Which when in just cohesion it unites
Order to order, rank to rank,
In mutual benefit,
So binding heart to heart,
It then connecteth Earth with Heaven, from whence
The golden links depend.
11.
Nor when the war is waged
With Error, and the brood
Of Darkness, will your aid
Be wanting in the cause of Light and Love,
Ye Ministers of that most holy Church,
Whose firm foundations on the rock
Of Scripture rest secure!
What though the Romanist, in numbers strong,
In misdirected zeal
And bigotry's blind force,
Assail your Fortress; though the sons of Schism
Join in insane alliance with that old,
Inveterate enemy,
Weening thereby to wreak
Their covenanted hatred, and effect
Your utter overthrow;
What though the unbelieving crew,
For fouler purpose, aid the unnatural league;
And Faction's wolfish pack
Set up their fiercest yell, to augment
The uproar of assault;
Clad in your panoply will ye be found,
Wielding the spear of Reason, with the sword
Of Scripture girt; and from your shield of Truth
Such radiance shall go forth,
As when, unable to sustain its beams
On Arthur's arm unveil'd,
Earth-born Orgoglio reel'd, as if with wine;
And, from her many-headed beast cast down,
Duessa fell, her cup of sorcery spilt,
Her three-crown'd mitre in the dust devolved,
And all her secret filthiness exposed.
12.
O thou fair Island, with thy Sister Isle
Indissolubly link'd for weal and woe;
Partaker of her present power,
Her everlasting fame;
Dear pledges hast thou render'd and received
Of that eternal union! Bedell's grave
Is in thy keeping; and with thee
Deposited doth Taylor's holy dust
Await the Archangel's call.
O land profuse of genius and of worth,
Largely hast thou received, and largely given!
13.
Green Island of the West,
The example of unspotted Ormond's faith
To thee we owe; to thee
Boyle's venerable name;
Berkeley the wise, the good;
And that great Orator who first
Unmask'd the harlot sorceress Anarchy,
What time, in Freedom's borrowed form profaned,
She to the nations round
Her draught of witchcraft gave;
And him who in the field
O'erthrew her giant offspring in his strength,
And brake the iron rod.
Proud of such debt,
Rich to be thus indebted, these,
Fair Island, Sister Queen
Of Ocean, Ireland, these to thee we owe.
14.
Shall I then imprecate
A curse on them that would divide
Our union? — Far be this from me, O Lord!
Far be it! What is man,
That he should scatter curses? — King of Kings,
Father of all, Almighty, Governor
Of all things! unto Thee
Humbly I offer up our holier prayer!
I pray Thee, not in wrath,
But in thy mercy, to confound
These men's devices. Lord!
Lighten their darkness with thy Gospel light,
And thus abate their pride,
Assuage their malice thus!
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