And was it not the proudest day in Britain's annals
And was he not a gallant chief who fought the gallant
Who broke the neck of tyranny, and left no more to do?--
That chief was Arthur Wellington! that fight was
O, when on bleak Corunna s heights he rear'd his ban
Britannia wept her gallant Moore; her scatter'd armies
To raise her glory to the stars, and kindle hearts of
The mighty victor gave the word, the master-spirit
Poor Soult, like Pistol with his leek! he soon compell'd
And then a glorious wreath he gain'd on Talaveras field.
See! quick as lightning, flash by flash! another deed
And Marmont has a battle lost, and Salamanca's won.
The shout was next "Vittoria!"--all Europe join'd the
Ne'er such a fight was fought before, and ne'er will be
Quoth Arthur, "With 'th' Invincibles' another bout
And show you when f the Captain * comes a better by
But lest his sword should rusty grow for want of daily
He gave the twice-drubb'd Soult again a settler at
His Marshals having beaten all, and laid upon the shelf,
He waits to see the Captain" come, and take a turn
Now Arthur is a gentleman, and always keeps his word;
And on the eighteenth day of June the cannons loud
The flow'r of England's chivalry their conquror rallied
A sturdy staff to cudgel well "the Captain" off the
"Come on, ye fighting vagabonds!" amidst a show'r
A shout is heard; the voice obey'd--the noble Picton
On valour's crimson bed behold the bleeding Howard
Oh! the heart beats the muffled drum when such a
The cuirassiers they gallop forth in polish'd coats of
"Up, Guards, and at'em!" and the shot comes rattling
A furious charge both man and horse soon prostrates and
And all the cuirassiers are cracked like lobsters in their
Where hottest is the fearful fight, and fire and flame
The darkest cloud, the dunnest smoke, there dances
That living wall of British hearts, that hollow square,
You mow it down--see! Frenchmen, see! the phalanx
The meteor-plume in majesty still floats along the
Brave, bonny Scots! ye fight the field of Bannockburn
The Gallic lines send forth a cheer; its feeble echoes
The British squadrons rend the air--and "Victory!"
'T was helter-skelter, devil take the hindmost, sauve
With "Captain" and " Invincibles" that day at Wa
O how the Beiges show'd their backs! but not a Briton