Page:An appeal to England against the execution of the condemned Fenians - Swinburne (1867).djvu/15

IV.

Strangers came gladly to thee,

Exiles, chosen of men,
Safe for thy sake in thy shade,
Sat down at thy feet and were free.
So men spake of thee then;
Soon shall their speaking be stayed?
Ah, so let it not be!

V.

Not for revenge or affright,

Pride, or a tyrannous lust,
Cast from thee the crown of thy praise.
Mercy was thine in thy might;
Strong when thou wert, thou wert just:
Now, in the wrong-doing days,
Cleave thou, thou at least, to the right.