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New Zealand Minstrelsy

Wairau:—or Col. W—’s Dirge to the Memory of His Brother

“New Zealand Minstrelsy”: Page 24.

Wairau:—or Col. W—’s Dirge to the Memory of His Brother.

Tune“Wallace’s Lament.”

Though Nature; Joypleasing, around thee, thy scenes, Waiarau!
’Tis painful to think on the deeds of thy day;
ReligionThough all to their fates, so resistless must bow,
WarI grieve for the victims who fell in thy fray.
But chiefly I mourn thee, my own dearest brother!
And shrink at the thought of thy mangled remains;
LossThe loss I sustain can be felt by no other,
MemoryAs long as thy mem’ry my bosom retains.

EthnographyThe savage may glory in deeds unrepaid,
And cowardly taunt thee, now low in thy grave;
They’ll yet in Moralitythe balance of justice be weigh’d,
And vengeance shall visit when nought can them save.
But still, LoveI’m depriv’d of thy friendship, my brother!
Which none can replace, as thy worth all can tell;
The cold hand of death now thy ashes may smother,
MemoryThy mem’ry shall live, though I sigh thee farewell.