The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-14
swINBURNEs SONG OF VICTORY
(Astrea Victrix)

England, elect of time,
BY freedom sealed sublime.
And constant IS the sun that saw thy
dawn
Outshine upon the sea
His own in heaven, to be
A light that night nor day should see
withdrawn,
If song may speak not now thy praise.
Fame writes it higher than song may
soar or faith may gaze.
Dark months on months beheld
Hope thwarted, crossed and quelled
And heard the heartless hounds of hatred
bay
Aloud against thee. glad
AS now their souls are sad
Who see their hope in hatred pass away
And wither into shame and fear
And shudder down to darkness, 10th to
see or hear.
Naught now they hear or sse
That speaks or SHOWS not thee
Triumphant; not as empires reared of
yore,
The imperial commonweal
That bears thy sovereign seal
And signs thine orient as thy natural
shore
Free. as no sons but thine may stand,
Steers lifeward ever, guided of thy pilot
hand.
Fear, masked and yelled by fraud,
Found shameful time to applaud
Shame, and bow down thy banner to-
wards the dust
And call on cody shame
To desecrate thy name
And bid false pen tence abjure thy trust
And felt her future kindle from. her fiery
past.
Then sprang the sunbright fire
/ High as the sun, and higher
! Than strange mems eyes might watch It
undismayed;
But winds athwart 1t blew
Storm, and the twilight grew
! Darkness awhile, an unenduring shade;
And all base hi DIS and beasts of night
( Saw no more England now to fear, no
loathsome light.
All knaves and slaves at heart
Who, knowing thee what thou art,
Abhor thee, seeing what none save here
may see,
Strong freedom, taintless truth,
Supreme In ageless youth,
Howled all their hate and hope aloud a
thee
While yet the wavering wind of strife
Bore hard against her sail whose freigh
And now the quickening tide
That brings back power and pride
TO faith and love whose ensign is tn.
name
Bears down the recreant lie
That doomed thy name to die,
Sons. friends, and foes behold thy sta
the same
As when it stood in heaven sun
| And Europe saw no glory left her SIX
save one.
And now, as ten she saw,
She sees with shamefast awe
How all unlike all slaves and tyrant
born
: Where bondmen champ the bit
And anarchs foam and fit,
] And day mocks day, and year puts yea
, to scorn,
Our mother bore US, English men.
Ashamed of shame and strong in mere!
: now as then. -..----..- >. :, :,
3 We loosed not on these knaves
: Their scourge tormented slaves:
d We held the hand that fain had risen
4 smite
= The torturer fast, and made
Justice awhile afraid,
And righteousness forego her ruthlei
right;
II We warred not even with these as they;
We babe not them they preyed on NAL
S Of them their prey.
o All murderous fraud that turks
In hearts where helPs craft works
, Fought, crawled. and slew in darkness
L. they that died
e. Dreamed not of foes too base
re For scorn to grant them grace
TO Men wounded, women, children at the
4 side,
~ Had found what faith in fiends may liy
- And yet we gave not back what righteo
- doom would give.
No false white flag that fawns
l. On faith till murder dawns
We Biood-red from he4.-black treason's hes
at of hate
n Left ever shame's foul brand
=. Scared on an English hand;
~ And yet our pride voucnsafes them gra
% too great
ng For other pride to dream of; scorn
in Strikes retribution silent as the stars
he morn.
he. And now the living breath
as Whose life puts death to death.
X Freedom, whose name is England, 81
- and thrills
The burning darkness through
Whence fraud and slavery grew.
ne We scarce may mourn our dead VIII
ire fame fulfills
in The record where her foes have read
ne. That earth shall see none like her b
ere earth be dead.
-Algernon Charles Swinburne In Sat