And to Our lands, Our isles beyond the sea,
Our World-embracing Greater Germany!
Let loose the breathings of Our Royal Band,
We give a rouse--_hoch! hoch!_--to HELGOLAND!

[_Kaiserliche Kapelle_ plays: _O Helgoland! mein Helgoland!_ Air--_Die
Wacht am Rhein_.]

WILLIAM, KAISER, continues:--

There are that languish on this festal day
Damned and impounded for _lese-majeste_;
We, William, in Our plentitude of grace,
Propose to pardon every hundredth case;
And though their sentence was no more than just
We offer each a copy of Our bust,
With option of a fine; but, be it known,
Whoso again shall deem his life his own,
Or find in Ours the faintest flaw or fleck,
God helping, We will hang him by the neck.
Yea, he shall surely curse his impious star
That dares to question Who or where We are!
Worship your Caesar, and (C.V.) your God;
Who spares the child may haply spoil the rod.
Many Our uniforms, but We are one,
And one Our empire over which the sun,
Careering on his cloud-compulsive way,
Sets once, but never more than once, a day.
The seas are Ours: world-wide upon the oceans
Our fleet commands the liveliest emotions;
Go where you will, you find Our German manners
Prevailing under other people's banners;
Go where you will, you cannot but remark
The cheap, but never nasty, German clerk;
Observe Our exports; do you ever see
Things made as they are made in Germany?
Always at home on Earth's remotest shores
_E.g._, among Our loved, low-German Boers,
Freely Our folk expectorate, and there
Our German bands inflame the balmy air;
Likewise again Our passionate bassoons
Tickle the niggers of the Cameroons;
Or others over whom Our Eagle flaps
In places not at present on the maps.
One more Imperial pint! your Kaiser drinks
To German intercourse with missing links!
Let loose the breathings of Our Royal Band,
We give--_hoch! hoch!_--Our glorious HINTERLAND!

[_Kaiserliche Kapelle_ plays: _O Hinterland! mein Hinterland!_ (Air as
before); during which WILLIAM, KAISER, resumes his throne.]

XIII. 'THE SPACIOUS TIMES.'

[On Drake's return from his filibustering expedition of 1580 the Queen
went on board his ship at Deptford, and after partaking of a banquet
conferred on him the honour of knighthood, at the same time declaring
herself mightily pleased with all that he had done.]

I wish that I had flourished then,
Whe