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Text
Farewell
English source:
Robert Whitby
_From a poem by Robert Whitby (1875)_
Farewell, ye brave and gallant Band,
Who leave old England’s rocky strand,
To plant her glorious emblem free,
Amid the Northern Arctic Sea.
Farewell, ye British hearts of oak,
You’ve boldly taken up the yoke
Which Franklin, Parry, Clintock bore
With honour, in the days of yore.
‘Tis Science bids you seek her, where
The Frost King grips his icy spear,
And claims within that dismal Zone
To reign omnipotent, alone.
She bids you go and win a prize,
Now hid beneath the Polar skies:
Britannia must the Laurel wear,
That crowns the unconquer’d Monarch there.
Farewell, ye brave and gallant Band,
Who leave old England’s rocky strand,
To plant her glorious emblem free,
Amid the Northern Arctic Sea.
Farewell, ye British hearts of oak,
You’ve boldly taken up the yoke
Which Franklin, Parry, Clintock bore
With honour, in the days of yore.
‘Tis Science bids you seek her, where
The Frost King grips his icy spear,
And claims within that dismal Zone
To reign omnipotent, alone.
She bids you go and win a prize,
Now hid beneath the Polar skies:
Britannia must the Laurel wear,
That crowns the unconquer’d Monarch there.
