The Order of the Star of India

' The star of India! ' 'tis a goodly name —
Due to a fuller honour, purer love,
Than we, defaulters to our trust, can claim:
Yet sure its choice was prompted from above;
Part-offspring of our civil hopes and fears,
Perchance its style is loftier than its birth;
But seen by wistful eyes thro' holy tears,
It lengthens out its beam and lights the earth;
We hail it as the herald of the day,
Earth's noblest badge, and knighthood's brightest prize;
The spirit of Havelock, the pure and wise,
Leans forward to salute it on its way —
And sainted Heber, with a glad surprise
Sees from Almorah's hill its rising ray.