William McCarty, comp. The American National Song Book. 1842.
La FayetteWilliam Bingham Tappan (17941849)
S
Noble by the patriot’s line;
Gallant warrior! chieftain hoary!
Immortality is thine,
Wreathe the laurel, Muses! wreathe it,
’Tis for no ignoble name;
Breathe the song, inspirers! breathe it,
Worthy of the veteran’s fame!
Saw the storm-cloud gathering nigh,
Heard the manacles of slavery
Rattle in the turbid sky,—
Triumph! thou who livest to say it,
Then arose proud Victory’s son,—
Crush’d is slavery! for La Fayette
Wears the meed that valour won!
Lustre from the scroll of peers;
While it dies, the name of warrior
Brightens with the touch of years!
And, though mingled with his fathers
In the slumbers of the tomb,
Time, who saps the palace, gathers
For the hero fresher bloom.
Soon shall lurk around his bed,—
Go, and mark him!—winds of heaven
Soon shall sweep that wintry head,—
Yet with flowers will we array it
Fairer than the poet’s dream;
Perish silence! when La Fayette
Is a nation’s grateful theme!