Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

LESSON XCIV.

The Indian Chief.-ANONYMOUS.

The following poem is founded on a traditionary story which is common in the neighborhood of the Falls of Niagara.

1. THE rain fell in torrents, the thunder roll'd deep,
And silenc'd the cataract's roar;

But neither the night nor the tempest could keep
The warrior chieftain on shore.

2. The war shout has sounded, the stream must be cross'd; Why lingers the leader afar!

"Twere better his life than his glory be lost;
He never came late to the war.

3. He seiz❜d a canoe as he sprang from the rock,
But fast as the shore fled his reach,

The mountain wave seem'd all his efforts to mock,
And dash'd the canoe on the beach.

4. "Great Spirit," he cried," shall the battle be given,
And all but their leader be there?

May this struggle land me with them or in heaven!'
And he push'd with the strength of despair.

5. He has quitted the shore, he has gained the deep,
His guide is the lightning alone;

But he felt not with fast, irresistible sweep,
The rapids were bearing him down.

6. But the cataract's roar with the thunder now vied;
"O what is the meaning of this !"

He spoke, and just turn'd to the cataract's side,
As the lightning flash'd down the abyss.

7. All the might of his arm to one effort was given,
At self preservation's command;

But the treacherous oar with the effort was riven,
And the fragment remain'd in his hand.

8. "Be it so," cry'd the warrior, taking his seat,
And folding his bow to his breast;

"Let the cataract shroud my pale corse with its sheet, And its roar lull my spirit to rest.

9. "The prospect of death with the brave I have bornc, I shrink not to bear it alone;

I have often fac'd death when the hope was forlorn,
But I shrink not to face him with none."

10. The thunder was hush'd, and the battle field stain'd,
When the sun met the war-wearied eye,
But no trace of the boat, or the chieftain remain'd
Though his bow was still seen in the sky.

LESSON XCV.

The Burial of Sir John Moore.*-REV. C. WOLFE.

1. NOT a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the ramparts we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot

O'er the grave where our Hero was buried.
2. We buried him darkly; at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning;
By the struggling moon-beams' misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.

3. No useless coffin enclosed his breast,

Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him;
But he lay-like a warrior taking his rest-
With his martial cloak around him!

4. Few and short were the prayers we said,
And we spoke not a word of sorrow;
But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead,
And we bitterly thought of the morrow-

5. We thought-as we hollowed his narrow bed,
And smoothed down his lonely pillow-

How the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head.
And we far away on the billow!

6. "Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone,
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him;

But nothing he'll reck, if they let him sleep on
In the grave where a Briton has laid him."

7. But half of our heavy task was done,

When the clock tolled the hour for retiring,

A gallant British General, killed by the French in battle, at Corunna, in Spain, Jan. 16th, 1809.

And we heard the distant and random gun,
That the foe was suddenly firing-

8. Slowly and sadly we laid him down,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, But we left him-alone with his glory!

LESSON XCVI.

Boadicea.*-Cowper.

1. WHEN the British warrior queen,
Bleeding from the Roman rods,
Sought, with an indignant mien,
Counsel of her country's gods,

2. Sage beneath the spreading oak
Sat the Druid,† hoary chief;
Ev'ry burning word he spoke
Full of rage, and full of grief.
3. "Princess! if our aged eyes!

Weep upon thy matchless wrongs,
"Tis because resentment ties

All the terrors of our tongues.

4. "Rome shall perish-write that word
In the blood that she has spilt;
Perish, hopeless and abhorr'd,
Deep in ruin as in guilt.

5. "Rome, for empire far renown'd,
Tramples on a thousand states;
Soon her pride shall kiss the ground-
Hark! the Gaul is at her gates!

6. "Other Romans shall arise,

Heedless of a soldier's name;
Sounds, not arms, shall win the prize,
Harmony the path to fame.

7. "Then the progeny that springs
From the forests of our land,

*Boadicea was queen of the Iceni, in Britain. She was defeated and conquered by the Romans, A. D. 59.

A Priest of the ancient Britons.

Arm'd with thunder, clad with wings,
Shall a wider world command.

8. "

Regions Cesar* never knew
Thy posterity shall sway;
Where his eagles never flew,
None invincible as they."

9. Such the bard's prophetic words,
Pregnant with celestial fire;
Bending as he swept the chords
Of his sweet but awful lyre.

10. She, with all a monarch's pride,
Felt them in her bosom glow:
Rush'd to battle, fought and died;
Dying, hurl'd them at the foe.

11. "Ruffians, pitiless as proud,

Heav'n awards the vengeance due:
Empire is on us bestow'd,

Shame and ruin wait for you."

LESSON XCVII.

The Common Lot.- MONTGOMERY.

1. ONCE in a flight of ages past,

There lived a man :-and wHо was HE ?
-Mortal! howe'er thy lot be cast,
That man resembled Thee.

2. Unknown the region of his birth;
The land in which he died unknown;
His name hath perish'd from the earth;
This truth survives alone :-

3. That joy and grief, and hope and fear,
Alternate triumph'd in his breast;
His bliss and wo,-a smile, a tear!
-Oblivion hides the rest.

4. The bounding pulse, the languid limb,

The changing spirits' rise and fall;

Julius Cesar, a Roman General. He was the first Roman that invaded Britain, which he twice reduced to apparent subjection. He was assassinated by conspirators, B. C. 43.

We know that these were felt by him,
For these are felt by all.

5. He suffer'd-but his pangs are o'er ;
Enjoy'd-but his delights are fled;

Had friends-his friends are now no more;
And foes-his foes are dead.

6. He lov'd-but whom he lov'd, the grave
Hath lost in its unconscious womb:
O she was fair!-but nought could save
Her beauty from the tomb.

7. The rolling seasons, day and night,
Sun, moon, and stars, the earth and main,
Erewhile his portion, life and light,
To him exist in vain.

8. He saw whatever thou hast seen;
Encounter'd all that troubles thee;
He was-whatever thou hast been;
He is what thou shalt be.

9. The clouds and sunbeams, o'er his eye
That once their shades and glory threw,
Have left, in yonder silent sky,
No vestige where they flew.

10. The annals of the human race,
Their ruins, since the world began,
Of HIм afford no other trace
Than this-THERE LIVED A MAN!

LESSON XCVIII.

On the Irresolution of Youth.-Goldsmith.

1. THE most usual way among young men, who have no resolution of their own, is, first to ask one friend's advice, and follow it for some time; then to ask advice of another, and turn to that; so of a third; still unsteady, always changing. However, every change of this nature is for the worse.

2. People may tell you of your being unfit for some peculiar occupations in life; but heed them not; whatever employment you follow with perseverance and assiduity, will be found fit for you; it will be your support in youth, and comfort in age.

« ПредишнаНапред »