Poetical works of Alfred Lord Tennyson [antikvár]

TO THE QUEEN Revered, beloved—0 you that hold A nobler office upon earth Than arms, or power of brain, or birth Could give the warrior kings of old. Take, Madam, this poor book of song ; For thd' the faidts were thick as dust /« vacant chambers, I could trust Your kindness. May you rule us long. Victoria,—since your Royal grace To one of less desert allows This laurel greener from the brows Of him that utter'd nothing base ; And leave us rulers of your blood As noble till the latest day ! May children of our children say, ' She wrotight her people lasting good; And should your greatness, and the care That yokes with empire, yield you time To 7nake demand of modern rhyme If aught of ancient worth be there ; ' Her court was pure ; her life serene ; God gave her peace ; her land reposed; A thousand claims to reverence closed In her as Mother, Wife, and Qiceen ; Then—while a sweeter music wakes, And thro'' wild March the throstle calls. Where all about your palace-walls The sun-lit almond-blossom shakes— ' And statesmen at her council met Who knew the seasons when to takt Occasion by the hand, and make The bounds of freedom wider yet March 1851. ' By shaping so7ne august decree. Which kept her throne tmshaken still. Broad-based upon her peoples zvill. And compass'd by the inviolate sea.' 3E B