The Life of Thomas Cooper, Written by Himself

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text excerpt

As the poor Leicester stockingers had so little work, they used to crowd the street, around my shop door, early in the evenings; and I had to devise some way of occupying them.  Sometimes I would deliver them a speech; but more generally, on the fine evenings, we used to form a procession of four or five in a rank, and troop through the streets, singing the following triplet to the air of the chorus “Rule Britannia:”

“Spread―spread the Charter―
Spread the Charter through the Land!
Let Britons bold and brave join heart and hand!”

Or chanting the “Lion of Freedom,” […] ―the words of which were as follows:

The Lion of Freedom is come from his den;
We’ll rally around him, again and again:
We’ll crown him with laurel, our champion to be:
O’Connor the patriot: for sweet Liberty!

The pride of the people―He’s noble and brave―
A terror to tyrants―a friend to the slave:
The bright star of Freedom―the noblest of men:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.

Who strove for the patriots―was up night and day―
To save them from falling to tyrants a prey?
’Twas fearless O’Connor was diligent then:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.

Though proud daring tyrants his body confined,
They never could conquer his generous mind:
We’ll hail our caged lion, now freed from his den:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.

The popularity of this song may serve to show how firmly [Feargus] O’Connor was fixed in the regard of a portion of the manufacturing operatives, as the incorruptible advocate of freedom.

excerpt from 'The Life of Thomas Cooper, Written by Himself' pp. 175 (278 words)

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