Song Of The Old Guard

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same . . . . And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six ranches that proceed out of the candlestick . . . . Their knops and their branches shall be of the same. - Exodus.     Know this, my brethren, Heaven! clear     And all the clouds are gone,     The Proper Sort shall flourish now,     Good times are coming on,     The evil that was threatened late     To all of our degree,     Hath passed in discord and debate,     And, Hey then up go we!     A common people strove in vain     To shame us unto toil,     But they are spent and we remain,     And we shall share the spoil     According to our several needs     As Beauty shall decree,     As Age ordains or Birth concedes,     And, Hey then up go we!     And they that with accursd zeal     Our Service would amend,     Shall own the odds and come to heel     Ere worse befall their end:     For though no naked word be wrote     Yet plainly shall they see     What pinneth Orders to their coat,     And, Hey then up go we!     Our doorways that, in time of fear,     We opened overwide     Shall softly close from year to year     Till all be purified;     For though no fluttering fan be heard     Nor chaff be seen to flee,     The Lord shall winnow the Lords Preferred,     And, Hey then up go we!     Our altars which the heathen brake     Shall rankly smoke anew,     And anise mint, and cummin take     Their dread and sovereign due,     Whereby the buttons of our trade     Shall all restord be     With curious work in gilt and braid,     And, Hey then up go we!     Then come, my brethren, and prepare     The candlesticks and bells,     The scarlet, brass, and badgers hair     Wherein our Honour dwells,     And straitly fence and strictly keep     The Arks integrity     Till Armageddon break our sleep . . .     And, Hey then up go we!