BALLADE OF FIGHT To G. K. C.

WHEN slaves shall ride as their lords of yore And kings in the gutter shall walk in shame, When a knave shall borrow the statesman’s lore And a charlatan the patriot’s fame, When the praise of the past shall be as blame, Out of Mancha shall ride a knight With lance in rest for an outworn aim, A stainless cause and a dauntless fight. When a suppliant Peace shall still the roar Of the battle thunders that burn and maim, When fleets shall steal by a sullen shore And squadrons wheel in a leaden game; When the corporate voice has grown too tame To raise a rally for God and Right, He shall grace before squire and dame A stainless cause with a dauntless fight. When God leans out from the Ivory Door And smites the dust of the worlds to flame When up from the Pit the Great Shapes soar Bearing Lucifer’s oriflamme, Gay as a Gordon, proud as a Graham, Though the Plains of Paradise invite, He shall tilt for Our Lady’s name, A stainless cause and a dauntless fight.

PRINCE, when the light of our days is o’er, Solemnly, silently cometh night, Grant us this passing flash, no more— A stainless cause and a dauntless fight.