ON THE STATUE OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT
BY NEVILLE BURNARD, ORDERED BY
THE WORKING MEN OF SHEFFIELD.*
GLORY to those who give it ! who erect
The bronze and marble, not where frothy tongue
Or bloody hand points out-no, but where God
Ordains the humble to walk forth before
The humble, and mount higher than the high.
Wisely, O Sheffield, wisely hast thou done
To place thy ELLIOTT on the plinth of fame;
Wisely hast chosen for that solemn deed
One like himself, born where no mother's love
Wrapt purple round him, nor rang golden bell,
Pendant from Libyan coral, in his ear,
To catch a smile or calm a petulance;
Nor tickled downy scalp with Belgic lace;
But whom strong genius took from poverty,
And said, Rise, mother, and behold thy child!
She rose, and Pride rose with her but was mute.
Three ELLIOTTS there have been, three glorious
Each in his generation. One was doom'd
By despotism and prelacy to pine
* Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Chapman and Hall.