(_The Fisheries dispute having been amicably compromised, the world is
at peace again._ .... News Despatch.)
'_At peace_'? The world has never been at peace--
Its wars are never-ending; there is naught
In all its battles like these overwrought
And storming hours with their dark increase.
The cities roar; in every street one sees
Women and children, battle-wounded, caught.--
No slaves, no shattered hosts have ever fought
So bitterly, so hopeless of release...
Well, if it must be war, take up the sword,
Facing the world with grim and savage glee;
And, with the courage of a Faith restored,
Strike till the darkness falters, and we see
That liberty is no mere gaudy word,
And peace no slothful, placid mockery.