Classic Poem

Yet our Elizabeth stood out alone,
Shielding the faith — though tarnish'd thus with crime,
When any darkness fell upon the time,
She heard the Jesuit's foot steal near the throne;
When man and nature felt the advancing stress
Of that great armament, her mighty soul
Quail'd not, and England from her steadfastness
Took heart — right-royal was her self-control;
Thames held his state; bold headlands of the coast
Sent winds to chafe the foe, that, hinting wreck,
Puft at each tilting prow and tower'd deck,
Till fuller tempests squander'd all their host,
And, like a pack that overruns the scent,
Far to the north their scurrying vessels went!