The Mask Of Anarchy.

1.     As I lay asleep in Italy     There came a voice from over the Sea,     And with great power it forth led me     To walk in the visions of Poesy.     2.     I met Murder on the way -     He had a mask like Castlereagh -     Very smooth he looked, yet grim;     Seven blood-hounds followed him:     3.     All were fat; and well they might     Be in admirable plight,     For one by one, and two by two,     He tossed them human hearts to chew     Which from his wide cloak he drew.     4.     Next came Fraud, and he had on,     Like Eldon, an ermined gown;     His big tears, for he wept well,     Turned to mill-stones as they fell.     5.     And the little children, who     Round his feet played to and fro,     Thinking every tear a gem,     Had their brains knocked out by them.     6.     Clothed with the Bible, as with light,     And the shadows of the night,     Like Sidmouth, next, Hypocrisy     On a crocodile rode by.     7.     And many more Destructions played     In this ghastly masquerade,     All disguised, even to the eyes,     Like Bishops, lawyers, peers, or spies.     8.     Last came Anarchy: he rode     On a white horse, splashed with blood;     He was pale even to the lips,     Like Death in the Apocalypse.     9.     And he wore a kingly crown;     And in his grasp a sceptre shone;     On his brow this mark I saw -     'I AM GOD, AND KING, AND LAW!'     10.     With a pace stately and fast,     Over English land he passed,     Trampling to a mire of blood     The adoring multitude.     11.     And a mighty troop around,     With their trampling shook the ground,     Waving each a bloody sword,     For the service of their Lord.     12.     And with glorious triumph, they     Rode through England proud and gay,     Drunk as with intoxication     Of the wine of desolation.     13.     O'er fields and towns, from sea to sea,     Passed the Pageant swift and free,     Tearing up, and trampling down;     Till they came to London town.     14.     And each dweller, panic-stricken,     Felt his heart with terror sicken     Hearing the tempestuous cry     Of the triumph of Anarchy.     15.     For with pomp to meet him came,     Clothed in arms like blood and flame,     The hired murderers, who did sing     'Thou art God, and Law, and King.     16.     'We have waited, weak and lone     For thy coming, Mighty One!     Our purses are empty, our swords are cold,     Give us glory, and blood, and gold.'     17.     Lawyers and priests, a motley crowd,     To the earth their pale brows bowed;     Like a bad prayer not over loud,     Whispering - 'Thou art Law and God.' -     18.     Then all cried with one accord,     'Thou art King, and God, and Lord;     Anarchy, to thee we bow,     Be thy name made holy now!'     19.     And Anarchy, the Skeleton,     Bowed and grinned to every one,     As well as if his education     Had cost ten millions to the nation.     20.     For he knew the Palaces     Of our Kings were rightly his;     His the sceptre, crown, and globe,     And the gold-inwoven robe.     21.     So he sent his slaves before     To seize upon the Bank and Tower,     And was proceeding with intent     To meet his pensioned Parliament     22.     When one fled past, a maniac maid,     And her name was Hope, she said:     But she looked more like Despair,     And she cried out in the air:     23.     'My father Time is weak and gray     With waiting for a better day;     See how idiot-like he stands,     Fumbling with his palsied hands!     24.     'He has had child after child,     And the dust of death is piled     Over every one but me -     Misery, oh, Misery!'     25.     Then she lay down in the street,     Right before the horses' feet,     Expecting, with a patient eye,     Murder, Fraud, and Anarchy.     26.     When between her and her foes     A mist, a light, an image rose,     Small at first, and weak, and frail     Like the vapour of a vale:     27.     Till as clouds grow on the blast,     Like tower-crowned giants striding fast,     And glare with lightnings as they fly,     And speak in thunder to the sky,     28.     It grew - a Shape arrayed in mail     Brighter than the viper's scale,     And upborne on wings whose grain     Was as the light of sunny rain.     29.     On its helm, seen far away,     A planet, like the Morning's, lay;     And those plumes its light rained through     Like a shower of crimson dew.     30.     With step as soft as wind it passed     O'er the heads of men - so fast     That they knew the presence there,     And looked, - but all was empty air.     31.     As flowers beneath May's footstep waken,     As stars from Night's loose hair are shaken,     As waves arise when loud winds call,     Thoughts sprung where'er that step did fall.     32.     And the prostrate multitude     Looked - and ankle-deep in blood,     Hope, that maiden most serene,     Was walking with a quiet mien:     33.     And Anarchy, the ghastly birth,     Lay dead earth upon the earth;     The Horse of Death tameless as wind     Fled, and with his hoofs did grind     To dust the murderers thronged behind.     34.     A rushing light of clouds and splendour,     A sense awakening and yet tender     Was heard and felt - and at its close     These words of joy and fear arose     35.     As if their own indignant Earth     Which gave the sons of England birth     Had felt their blood upon her brow,     And shuddering with a mother's throe     36.     Had turned every drop of blood     By which her face had been bedewed     To an accent unwithstood, -     As if her heart had cried aloud:     37.     'Men of England, heirs of Glory,     Heroes of unwritten story,     Nurslings of one mighty Mother,     Hopes of her, and one another;     38.     'Rise like Lions after slumber     In unvanquishable number,     Shake your chains to earth like dew     Which in sleep had fallen on you -     Ye are many - they are few.     39.     'What is Freedom? - ye can tell     That which slavery is, too well -     For its very name has grown     To an echo of your own.     40.     ''Tis to work and have such pay     As just keeps life from day to day     In your limbs, as in a cell     For the tyrants' use to dwell,     41.     'So that ye for them are made     Loom, and plough, and sword, and spade,     With or without your own will bent     To their defence and nourishment.     42.     ''Tis to see your children weak     With their mothers pine and peak,     When the winter winds are bleak, -     They are dying whilst I speak.     43.     ''Tis to hunger for such diet     As the rich man in his riot     Casts to the fat dogs that lie     Surfeiting beneath his eye;     44.     ''Tis to let the Ghost of Gold     Take from Toil a thousandfold     More than e'er its substance could     In the tyrannies of old.     45.     'Paper coin - that forgery     Of the title-deeds, which ye     Hold to something of the worth     Of the inheritance of Earth.     46.     ''Tis to be a slave in soul     And to hold no strong control     Over your own wills, but be     All that others make of ye.     47.     'And at length when ye complain     With a murmur weak and vain     'Tis to see the Tyrant's crew     Ride over your wives and you     Blood is on the grass like dew.     48.     'Then it is to feel revenge     Fiercely thirsting to exchange     Blood for blood - and wrong for wrong -     Do not thus when ye are strong.     49.     'Birds find rest, in narrow nest     When weary of their winged quest;     Beasts find fare, in woody lair     When storm and snow are in the air.     50.     'Asses, swine, have litter spread     And with fitting food are fed;     All things have a home but one -     Thou, Oh, Englishman, hast none!     51.     'This is Slavery - savage men,     Or wild beasts within a den     Would endure not as ye do -     But such ills they never knew.     52.     'What art thou Freedom? O! could slaves     Answer from their living graves     This demand - tyrants would flee     Like a dream's dim imagery:     53.     'Thou art not, as impostors say,     A shadow soon to pass away,     A superstition, and a name     Echoing from the cave of Fame.     54.     'For the labourer thou art bread,     And a comely table spread     From his daily labour come     In a neat and happy home.     55.     Thou art clothes, and fire, and food     For the trampled multitude -     No - in countries that are free     Such starvation cannot be     As in England now we see.     56.     'To the rich thou art a check,     When his foot is on the neck     Of his victim, thou dost make     That he treads upon a snake.     57.     Thou art Justice - ne'er for gold     May thy righteous laws be sold     As laws are in England - thou     Shield'st alike the high and low.     58.     'Thou art Wisdom - Freemen never     Dream that God will damn for ever     All who think those things untrue     Of which Priests make such ado.     59.     'Thou art Peace - never by thee     Would blood and treasure wasted be     As tyrants wasted them, when all     Leagued to quench thy flame in Gaul.     60.     'What if English toil and blood     Was poured forth, even as a flood?     It availed, Oh, Liberty,     To dim, but not extinguish thee.     61.     'Thou art Love - the rich have kissed     Thy feet, and like him following Christ,     Give their substance to the free     And through the rough world follow thee,     62.     'Or turn their wealth to arms, and make     War for thy beloved sake     On wealth, and war, and fraud - whence they     Drew the power which is their prey.     63.     'Science, Poetry, and Thought     Are thy lamps; they make the lot     Of the dwellers in a cot     So serene, they curse it not.     64.     'Spirit, Patience, Gentleness,     All that can adorn and bless     Art thou - let deeds, not words, express     Thine exceeding loveliness.     65.     'Let a great Assembly be     Of the fearless and the free     On some spot of English ground     Where the plains stretch wide around.     66.     'Let the blue sky overhead,     The green earth on which ye tread,     All that must eternal be     Witness the solemnity.     67.     'From the corners uttermost     Of the bounds of English coast;     From every hut, village, and town     Where those who live and suffer moan     For others' misery or their own,     68.     'From the workhouse and the prison     Where pale as corpses newly risen,     Women, children, young and old     Groan for pain, and weep for cold -     69.     'From the haunts of daily life     Where is waged the daily strife     With common wants and common cares     Which sows the human heart with tares -     70.     'Lastly from the palaces     Where the murmur of distress     Echoes, like the distant sound     Of a wind alive around     71.     'Those prison halls of wealth and fashion,     Where some few feel such compassion     For those who groan, and toil, and wail     As must make their brethren pale -     72.     'Ye who suffer woes untold,     Or to feel, or to behold     Your lost country bought and sold     With a price of blood and gold -     73.     'Let a vast assembly be,     And with great solemnity     Declare with measured words that ye     Are, as God has made ye, free -     74.     'Be your strong and simple words     Keen to wound as sharpened swords,     And wide as targes let them be,     With their shade to cover ye.     75.     'Let the tyrants pour around     With a quick and startling sound,     Like the loosening of a sea,     Troops of armed emblazonry.     76.     'Let the charged artillery drive     Till the dead air seems alive     With the clash of clanging wheels,     And the tramp of horses' heels.     77.     'Let the fixed bayonet     Gleam with sharp desire to wet     Its bright point in English blood     Looking keen as one for food.     78.     Let the horsemen's scimitars     Wheel and flash, like sphereless stars     Thirsting to eclipse their burning     In a sea of death and mourning.     79.     'Stand ye calm and resolute,     Like a forest close and mute,     With folded arms and looks which are     Weapons of unvanquished war,     80.     'And let Panic, who outspeeds     The career of armed steeds     Pass, a disregarded shade     Through your phalanx undismayed.     81.     'Let the laws of your own land,     Good or ill, between ye stand     Hand to hand, and foot to foot,     Arbiters of the dispute,     82.     'The old laws of England - they     Whose reverend heads with age are gray,     Children of a wiser day;     And whose solemn voice must be     Thine own echo - Liberty!     83.     'On those who first should violate     Such sacred heralds in their state     Rest the blood that must ensue,     And it will not rest on you.     84.     'And if then the tyrants dare     Let them ride among you there,     Slash, and stab, and maim, and hew, -     What they like, that let them do.     85.     'With folded arms and steady eyes,     And little fear, and less surprise,     Look upon them as they slay     Till their rage has died away.     86.     Then they will return with shame     To the place from which they came,     And the blood thus shed will speak     In hot blushes on their cheek.     87.     'Every woman in the land     Will point at them as they stand -     They will hardly dare to greet     Their acquaintance in the street.     88.     'And the bold, true warriors     Who have hugged Danger in wars     Will turn to those who would be free,     Ashamed of such base company.     89.     'And that slaughter to the Nation     Shall steam up like inspiration,     Eloquent, oracular;     A volcano heard afar.     90.     'And these words shall then become     Like Oppression's thundered doom     Ringing through each heart and brain,     Heard again - again - again -     91.     'Rise like Lions after slumber     In unvanquishable number -     Shake your chains to earth like dew     Which in sleep had fallen on you -     Ye are many - they are few.'