A DIRGE FOR O’CONNELL.
Reading edition
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BY ANNE C. LYNCH.
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Throw open once again
The portals of the tomb,
And give among the glorious dead
Another hero room!
Unclose your shadowy ranks,
Illustrious shades unclose!
The valiant Leader, crowned with years,
Goes down to his repose.
The champion of Peace
On many a well-fought field,
Whose bloodless victories left no stain
On his untarnished shield;
A king, though on his brow
No jeweled crown might shine,
A king, although his patriot blood
Glowed from no royal line;
A sovereign o’er a realm
No boundaries can confine.
Whose throne was in a Nation’s heart,
Who reigned by right divine;
A priest at Freedom’s shrine,
Whose kindling words he spoke,
Till the dumb millions from their sleep
To life and hope awoke;
A soldier of the Cross,
Who bore a stainless brand;
The Preacher of a new crusade
To rescue a lost land.
Rome! to thy care is given
The heart whose throbs are o’er;
Eternal City! to thy charge
Take this one relic more!
And Erin, sad and lorn,
Take thou thy sacred trust,
And let the soil he loved so well
Commingle with his dust!
And, Fame, take thou in charge
The patriot’s renown,
And gather from your amaranth fields
Another fadeless crown.