collection of English songs long since out of print, which is perhaps worth repeating here: — 66 64 Britannia, rouse at heav'n's command! And crown thy native Prince again; And Plenty pour in from the main: Then shalt thou be-Britannia thou shalt be Behold, great Charles! thy godlike son, And fame's loud trump proclaims the sound. "The second hope young Hero claims, "The happiest states must yield to thee, And ride triumphant round the ball: There is still another parody, also once very famous, contained in the book referred to. The first verse is as follows, “When our great Prince, with his choice band, Arriv'd from o'er the azure main, Heav'n smil'd with pleasure, with pleasure on the land, And guardian angels sung this strain: Go, brave hero; brave hero, boldly go, And wrest thy scepter from thy foe.” In letting the parodies die, and in retaining the original song, succeeding generations have manifestly ensured the survival of the fittest. There has perhaps been no time since the Revolutionary War when Americans have listened to Rule Britannia with as sympathetic ears as since the beginning of our war with Spain. The almost universal sympathy expressed for us by all classes in England has served to bring the two nations closer together than a hundred years of ordinary intercourse. Whether or no it brings about the Anglo-American alliance so widely discussed, it has made Rale Britannia a grateful song to patriotic Americans. |