[E. Cecil Mornington Roberts.] Holograph Poem (signed 'Cecil Roberts'), a sonnet titled 'Liberty Challenged' ('Not without cause just and unshakeable').

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on aged, creased and worn paper. The poem features under the title 'Liberty Imperilled' in Roberts's collection 'Charing Cross and Other Poems of the Period' (1919), and the context suggests that the poem was composed at the commencement of the First World War. The sonnet begins: 'Not without cause just and unshakeable | Will we surrender up the cherished prize | Of individual liberty, so well | and nobly held'. The sestet is as follows: 'Therefore in British hearts this day the thought | Of mighty heritage shall make us calm | Amid tumultuous conflicts, and maintain | Forces unchallenged, victories unbought | Of craven minds coerced by war's alarm | And loving all they ever fought to gain'. At the foot of the page Roberts writes: 'Please excuse script - I am miles from a typewriter.'