4
A Political Allegory[1].
Once there was a famous nation
With a long and glorious past:
Very splendid was its station,
And its territory vast:
It had won the approbation,
The applause and admiration,
Of the states who'd had occasion.
In a time of tribulation,
And of disorganisation,
Not to mention degradation,
And profound humiliation,
To observe it standing fast
Without any trepidation,
Or a sign of vacillation,
Firm and faithful to the last.
With a long and glorious past:
Very splendid was its station,
And its territory vast:
It had won the approbation,
The applause and admiration,
Of the states who'd had occasion.
In a time of tribulation,
And of disorganisation,
Not to mention degradation,
And profound humiliation,
To observe it standing fast
Without any trepidation,
Or a sign of vacillation,
Firm and faithful to the last.
Came a time of dire distraction,
Full of terror and despair,
When a delicate transaction
Called for unexampled care;
But the people were directed,
Both the well and ill-affected,
To a wholly unexpected
Full of terror and despair,
When a delicate transaction
Called for unexampled care;
But the people were directed,
Both the well and ill-affected,
To a wholly unexpected
- ↑ From "A Wreath of Song" by the Lotos Club. Cambridge, Deighton and Bell, 1880.
