And now with a rattling thunder-stroke
It bursts in flash and flame.

As swift as the glance of the arrowy lance
That the storm-spirit flings from high,
The star-shot flew o'er the welkin blue,
As it fell from the sheeted sky.

As swift as the wind in its trail behind

The elfin gallops along,

The fiends of the clouds are bellowing loud,
But the sylphid charm is strong;

He gallops unhurt in the shower of fire,
While the cloud-fiends fly from the blaze;
He watches each flake till its sparks expire,
And rides in the light of its rays.

But he drove his steed to the lightning's speed, And caught a glimmering spark ;

Then wheeled around to the fairy ground,

And sped through the midnight dark.

The hill-tops gleam in morning's spring,
The sky-lark shakes his dappled wing,
The day-glimpse glimmers on the lawn,
The cock has crowed, and the Fays are gone.

WE

THE AMERICAN FLAG.

HEN Freedom from her mountain height
Unfurled her standard to the air,

She tore the azure robe of night,

And set the stars of glory there.
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure celestial white
With streakings of the morning light;
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle bearer down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land.

Majestic monarch of the cloud,

Who rear'st aloft thy regal form,
To hear the tempest trumpings loud
And see the lightning lances driven,
When strive the warriors of the storm,

And rolls the thunder-drum of heaven,
Child of the sun! to thee 'tis given
To guard the banner of the free,
To hover in the sulphur smoke,
To ward away the battle stroke,
And bid its blendings shine afar,
Like rainbows on the cloud of war,
The harbingers of victory!

Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,
The sign of hope and triumph high,
When speaks the signal trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on.
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,

Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,
Each soldier eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn,
And, as his springing steps advance,

Catch war and vengeance from the glance.
And when the cannon-mouthings loud

Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,

And gory sabres rise and fall

Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall,

Then shall thy meteor glances glow,
And cowering foes shall shrink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes below
That lovely messenger of death.

Flag of the seas! on ocean wave

Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;
When death, careering on the gale,

Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frighted waves rush wildly back
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea

Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendors fly
In triumph o'er his closing eye.

Flag of the free heart's hope and home!
By angel hands to valor given;
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,

And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!

Where breathes the foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?

IN

Daniel Pierce Thompson.

BORN in Charlestown, Mass., 1795. DIED at Montpelier, Vt., 1868.

DEFENCE OF A SUBTERRANEAN STRONGHOLD.

[The Green Mountain Boys. 1840.]

N a few moments Captain Hendee, who, nearly ready to sink under the fatigues of the day, had retired to the inner room in the interval of quiet which followed the repulse of the enemy at the western entrance, had made his appearance. A glance at the ceiling, now visibly shaking in two different places under the rapidly progressing operations of the foe above, enabled him, with the hasty intimations just imparted by his daughter, to comprehend at once the situation of both besiegers and besieged.

"This is a strait to which I both feared and expected we should be finally reduced," he remarked coolly, after a momentary pause, “but let no man despair; I have been in situations more hopeless than this, and yet escaped."

"We can at least sell our lives dearly," responded Selden.

"True," replied the old veteran thoughtfully, "even in the method of defence which I see, from your arrangement, you propose to adopt,that of shooting the assailants as they attempt to enter the breaches that they may make. But will you be able thus to repel them long? Every foot of this earthy covering, which now protects us from their bullets, may be removed, or beat in upon us, before we can bring our guns to bear upon them with effect. And every surrounding tree-top will, by that time, conceal a foe, ready to send us death from above; while firebrands and combustibles will be hurled down upon us by those remain ing on the ground. And if we retreat into our narrow passages, as we must, the same game will follow us there."

"All these hazards, Captain Hendee," replied the young leader, “I am fully aware we may encounter. But what other mode of defence can we adopt?-A sally from the western entrance, which is now doubtless closely guarded by the enemy, with the expectation that we shall soon be driven to make it, must prove fatal to all who shall attempt it; while the entrance at the other end of the passage is blocked up by a red mass of burning ruins. What other expedient, then, is left for us."

"I had thought of one," said Captain Hendee, with some hesitation. "I had thought of one, as our last resort, in an emergency like this. It may not be without risk to ourselves, I am aware, but," he continued, with fiercely flashing eyes, "but it must be swift destruction to the accursed gang above, who are thirsting for our blood!"

"In the name of heaven, declare it, then!" eagerly cried Selden, casting an uneasy glance at some fresh demonstrations of the progress of the foe in the covering above.

"I will-here, this way," replied the former, as, stepping across the room, he opened the concealed recess in the wall, and disclosed the widow's magazine to the wondering gaze of Selden and his men, who, ignorant of its existence, did not at once understand the nature of its contents, or perceive the old gentleman's object in displaying it. "There!" he added, significantly pointing to the heads of the casks thus brought to view, "there, that explains my plan."

"How? What do those barrels contain?" rapidly demanded Selden, with the very expression of doubt, surprise, and alarm.

Gunpowder!" was the emphatic reply.

"Good God! Captain Hendee, do you consider our case so desperate, that, Sampson-like, we should all perish with our foes?'

"It does not follow that we shall perish with them. I have seen somewhat of the operation of exploding mines, and cannot believe that the effects in the proposed one can reach far into that winding passage,

to the further end of which, if thought safer than the inner room, we can all repair."

"I'll be blest if I don't think the old thrash-the-devil is about right, Captain Selden," exclaimed Pete Jones, leaping about, and snapping his fingers in great glee. "Jest place them in that corner beyond the fire there, and it must be a sort of powder that I'm not acquainted with, if it turns at a right angle very far into that passage after mischief. Well, now, the Lord be thanked for putting this into your noddle, old friend. I had about agreed to say gone dogs for us all, but now I can see a considerable sprinkling of hope through them barrels of thunder yonder."

"And you, Mrs. Story, whose stake is the greatest in the result," said Selden, turning to the widow, after hastily running his eye over the different parts of the room, as if calculating the probable extent to which the explosion would affect the earth laterally,-what do you say to the measure?"

"I don't know-I don't know," replied the distressed mother, who had been mutely listening to the startling proposition, in a sort of wild amazement. "The work of the element will be terrific-perhaps fatal to us-but the work of the exasperated foe, unless thus destroyed, will be, I fear, for all we can do, no less dreadful. I leave it to you, and may God direct the course which shall be for our good," she added, with a shudder.

"It is a fearful experiment, but it shall be tried," said the young leader, turning away to begin the required arrangement.

At that instant a large fragment of earth was suddenly ruptured from the ceiling, and fell heavily to the floor, scattering dirt in every direction around, and disclosing in the place from which it had been detached, the point of a huge sharpened stake, protruding several inches into the room; while the wild and exultant shouting of the foe above, as the stake was drawn up, and the redoubled fury with which they renewed their exertions, all loudly warned our band that there was no time to be lost in preparing for the execution of their purpose.

"Clear the room, instantly!" cried Selden, in low, but startling accents, "back! back! every man of you, but Jones, to the further end of the passage-no remonstrance-no offers!" he continued, as urging them with drawn sword from the room, several began to persuade him to permit them to incur the hazard of exploding the fatal mine, "not a word! the match shall be applied by my own hand."

As soon as the room was fairly cleared, Selden turned, and, with rapid steps proceeded to the recess, drew forth the barrels, and, carrying them to the corner opposite to the entrance of the inner passage, placed them firmly, and pulled out the bungs, allowing a quantity of the powder to run out from each on to the ground. He then laid a small, continuous