And 'midst those scenes renew'd th' achievements high
Bequeathed to fame by England's ancestry.
Yet, when the storm seem'd hushed, the conflict past,
One strife remained—the mightiest and the last!
Nerved for the struggle, in that fateful hour,
Untamed Ambition summon'd all his power;
Vengeance and Pride, to frenzy rous'd, were there,
And the stern might of resolute Despair.
Isle of the free! 'twas then thy champions stood,
Breasting unmov'd the combat's wildest flood,
Sunbeam of Battle, then thy spirit shone,
Glow'd in each breast, and sunk with life alone.
Oh hearts devoted! whose illustrious doom.
Gave there at once your triumph and your tomb,
Ye, firm and faithful, in th' ordeal tried
Of that dread strife, by Freedom sanctified;
