GIVE ME ARMOUR OF PROOF by LUCY H. HOOPER

GIVE me armour of proof, I must ride to the plain;
Give me armour of proof, ere the trump sound again:
To the halls of my childhood no more am I known,
And the nettle must rise where the myrtle hath blown.
Till the conflict is over, the battle is past --
Give me armour of proof -- I am true to the last!

Give me armour of proof -- bring me helmet and spear;
Away! shall the warrior's cheek own a tear?
Bring the steel of Milan -- 't is the firmest and best,
And bind on my bosom its closely-link'd vest,
Where the head of a loved one in fondness hath lain,
Whose tears fell at parting like warm summer rain!

Give me armour of proof -- I have torn from my heart
Each soft tie and true that forbade me to part;
Bring the sword of Damascus, its blade cold and bright,
That bends not in conflict, but gleams in the fight;
And stay -- let me fasten yon scarf on my breast,
Love's light pledge and true -- I will answer the rest!

Give me armour of proof -- shall the cry be in vain,
When to life's sternest conflicts we rush forth amain?
The knight clad in armour the battle may bide;
But woe to the heedless when bendeth the tried;
And woe to youth's morn, when we rode forth alone,
To the conflict unguarded, its gladness hath flown!

Give us armour of proof -- our hopes were all high;
But they pass'd like the meteor lights from the sky;
Our hearts' trust was firm, but life's waves swept away
One by one the frail ties which were shelter and stay;
And true was our love, but its bonds broke in twain:
Give me armour of proof, ere we ride forth again.

Give me armour of proof -- we would turn from the view
Of a world that is fading to one that is true;
We would lift up each thought from this earth-shaded light
To the regions above, where there stealeth no blight;
And with Faith's chosen shield by no dark tempests riven,
We would gaze from earth's storms on the brightness of heaven!

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