But his lips burst aflower
To praise Britannia.
5
Britannia the sage,
With her own history wise;
The stars were her allies
To write that ample page.
'Twas her victorious eyes
The vantage saw, whence she
To this wide regency
Through acts adventurous won:
Which if from strife and jar
She keep, the secret learn
From her mild brow alone;
How, not the world to daunt
Or power imperial flaunt
She makes the queen'd earth yearn
To serve Britannia.
6
Britannia the good,
With her own heart at school,
Whom flatterer cannot fool
Nor rebel sour; at flood
Her own strength taught to rule.
Hers are the mighty hands
That o'er a hundred lands
Weave good from dawn to gray.
Like fond words from afar
Hers are the winged sails
O'er ocean: words are they
Which in a moment bring
Her brood beneath her wing;
And none so small that fails
To knit Britannia.
