The Earl Of Derby To General Lee
by The Earl Of Derby
(On the fly-leaf of the copy of the Iliad
given by the Earl of Derby to General Lee)
The grave old bard, who never dies,
Receive him in our native tongue;
I send thee, but with weeping eyes,
The story that he sung.
Thy Troy has fallen; thy dear land
Is marred beneath the spoiler's heel;
I cannot trust my trembling hand
To write the grief I feel.
Oh, home of tears! But let her bear
This blazon to the end of time:
No nation rose so white and fair,
None fell so pure of crime.
The widow's moan, the orphan's wail,
Are around thee, but in truth be strong.
Eternal right, though all things fail,
Can never be made wrong.
An angel's heart, an angel's mouth
(Not Homer's), could alone for me
Hymn forth the great Confederate South;
Virginia first, then Lee.
