26.12.2010, 15:30
THE TELEGRAPH CABLE TO INDIA.
Anticipative.
How all the old ways of intercourse have ceased,
Or well-nigh ceased—and we have lived to see
The word of England rapt into the East
Beneath the rolling waters ! Can it be ?
Yea, and thro' lawless regions which we guard
And subsidize ; the Arab and the Turk
Are bound by stress of state, or gross reward,
To aid the mystic courier at its work
Twixt land and sea ; soon, without wave or wind,
Our statesmen shall despatch their ' how ' and ' why '
And charge the lightning with their i)olicy ;
Nor shall our home-affections lag behind ;
For all that longs, and loves, and craves reply,
Shall move the needle on the shores of Ind.
Anticipative.
How all the old ways of intercourse have ceased,
Or well-nigh ceased—and we have lived to see
The word of England rapt into the East
Beneath the rolling waters ! Can it be ?
Yea, and thro' lawless regions which we guard
And subsidize ; the Arab and the Turk
Are bound by stress of state, or gross reward,
To aid the mystic courier at its work
Twixt land and sea ; soon, without wave or wind,
Our statesmen shall despatch their ' how ' and ' why '
And charge the lightning with their i)olicy ;
Nor shall our home-affections lag behind ;
For all that longs, and loves, and craves reply,
Shall move the needle on the shores of Ind.