Queen Victoria at Spithead. Written on the Occassion of the Review by Her Majesty, of the Experimental Fleet Under the Command of Admiral Hyde Parker, Spithead, on the 21st of June, 1845.

“Britannia rules the waves!”
Hark to that thrilling song,
That tells us there shall be no “slaves”
Her stalwart sons among!
That, wheresoe'er her flag may wave,
Her “charter,” won from heaven, she'll keep—
Still potent to destroy or save—
Her empire o'er the deep!
Hark to the cannons' roar
As the Island Queen sweeps by!
To the cheers from sea to shore,
That would seem to rend the sky!
Hark, again! What thunders peal,
As those “Wooden Walls” reply!
Till their decks begin to reel
With that burst of loyalty!
All hail our Ocean Queen!
Hail, too, our “Wooden Walls!”
What dreams of glories that have been
That gallant show recalls!
What heroes of the mighty deep,
That long have run their race,
Uprise from their fame-hallowed sleep,
In this familiar place!
Too war-worn to take part
In yon heart stirring scene,
Like some bright star that dwells apart,
One ship afar is seen;
Safe, in her honoured age, she sleeps
From storms she once might well defy;
And still the post of honour keeps,
The eidolon of Victory!
And bearing many a glorious name
Of hero-might, or battle-flood,
Snatched from the brightest scroll of Fame,
Are ranged yon gallant sisterhood.
Meet spectacle for England's Queen;
Fit homage to her island reign;
Whose proudest boast hath ever been
Her empire o'er the main!
“Britannia rules the waves!”
Hark to that thrilling song
That tells us there shall be no “slaves”
Her stalwart sons among;
That wheresoe'er her flag may wave,
Her “charter,” won from heaven, she'll keep—
Still potent to destroy or save—
Her empire o'er the deep!