[212]
That you who came from uplands
And from beside the sea,
Filled with love of Old Virginia,
And the teachings of the free,
May boast in sight of all men
That you followed Robert Lee.
Peace has come. God gave his blessing
On the fact and on the name!
The South speaks no invective,
And she writes no word of blame;
But we call all men to witness
That we stand up without shame!
Nay! Send it forth to all the world
That we stand up here with pride,
With love for our living comrades
And with praise for those who died;
And in this manly frame of mind
Till death we will abide.
God and our consciences alone
Give us measures of right and wrong.
The race may fall unto the swift
And the battle to the strong;
But the truth will shine in history
And blossom into song.
Human grief full oft by glory
Is assuaged and disappears
When its requiem swells with music
Like the shock of shields and spears,
And its passion is too full of pride
To leave a space for tears.
And hence to-day, my Countrymen,
We come, with undimmed eyes,
In homage of the hero Lee,
The good, the great, the wise;
And at his name our hearts will leap
Till his last old soldier dies.
Ask me, if so you please, to paint
Storm winds upon the sea;
Tell me to weigh great Cheops–
Set volcanic forces free;
But bid me not, my Countrymen,
To picture Robert Lee!
And from beside the sea,
Filled with love of Old Virginia,
And the teachings of the free,
May boast in sight of all men
That you followed Robert Lee.
Peace has come. God gave his blessing
On the fact and on the name!
The South speaks no invective,
And she writes no word of blame;
But we call all men to witness
That we stand up without shame!
Nay! Send it forth to all the world
That we stand up here with pride,
With love for our living comrades
And with praise for those who died;
And in this manly frame of mind
Till death we will abide.
God and our consciences alone
Give us measures of right and wrong.
The race may fall unto the swift
And the battle to the strong;
But the truth will shine in history
And blossom into song.
Human grief full oft by glory
Is assuaged and disappears
When its requiem swells with music
Like the shock of shields and spears,
And its passion is too full of pride
To leave a space for tears.
And hence to-day, my Countrymen,
We come, with undimmed eyes,
In homage of the hero Lee,
The good, the great, the wise;
And at his name our hearts will leap
Till his last old soldier dies.
Ask me, if so you please, to paint
Storm winds upon the sea;
Tell me to weigh great Cheops–
Set volcanic forces free;
But bid me not, my Countrymen,
To picture Robert Lee!
