Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
WellingtonLord Beaconsfield (18041881)
N
The tyrant of a world, and, conquering Fate,
Enfranchise Europe, do I deem thee great;
But that in all thy actions I do find
Exact propriety; no gusts of mind
Fitful and wild, but that continuous state
Of order’d impulse mariners await
In some benignant and enriching wind,—
The breath ordain’d of Nature. Thy calm mien
Recalls old Rome as much as thy high deed;
Duty thine only idol, and serene
When all are troubled; in the utmost need
Prescient; thy country’s servant ever seen,
Yet sovereign of thyself, whate’er may speed.