"Behold, great Charles! thy godlike son, With majesty and sweetness crown'd; His worth th' admiring world doth own, And fame's loud trump proclaims the sound. Thy captain him, Britannia, him declare! Of kings and heroes he's the heir. "The second hope young Hero claims, Th' extended empire of the main; His breast with fire and courage flames, With Nature's bounds to fix thy reign. He (Neptune-like), Britannia, will defy All but the thunder of the sky. "The happiest states must yield to thee, When free from dire corruption's thrall; Of land and sea thou'lt Emp'ror be, And ride triumphant round the ball: Britannia, unite! Britannia must prevail, Her powerful hand must guide the scale." There is still another parody, also once very famous, contained in the book referred to. The first verse is as follows,-- "When our great Prince, with his choice band, Arriv'd from o'er the azure main, Heav'n smil'd with pleasure, with pleasure on the land, And guardian angels sung this strain: Go, brave hero; brave hero, boldly go, And wrest thy scepter from thy foe." In letting the parodies die, and in retaining the original song, succeeding generations have manifestly ensured the survival of the fittest. There has perhaps been no time since the Revolutionary War when Americans have listened to _Rule Britannia_ with as sympathetic ears as since the beginning of our war with Spain. The almost universal sympathy expressed for us by all classes in England has served to bring the two nations closer together than a hundred years of ordinary intercourse. Whether or no it brings about the Anglo-American alliance so widely discussed, it has made _Rule Britannia_ a grateful song to patriotic Americans. [Illustration] [Illustration: _OTTO EDUARD LEOPOLD VON BISMARCK-SCHÖNHAUSEN_] _THE WATCH ON THE RHINE._ Like gathering thunder spreads a cry, Like clash of arms when battle's nigh, The Rhine! there's danger to the Rhine! Who'll shield it from the foe's design? Dear Fatherland, no fear be thine, Dear Fatherland, no fear be thine, Steadfast and true, we guard our German Rhine! Steadfast and true, we guard our German Rhine! The tidings flash through million hearts, From million flaming eyes it darts; Our valiant sons, in danger strong, Will guard our hallow'd stream from wrong! What though the foe my life should quench, I know thy wave will ne'er be French; And ample as thy tide of blue, The living stream of heroes true. The shades of heroes past and gone Upon our deeds are looking down; By home and Fatherland we swear The foeman from thy banks to scare. While through my veins the life is poured, As long as I can hold a sword, No stranger shall our land despoil, No foeman desecrate our soil.