s: Like an infant takes to his mother's breast,


s: But the dawn was near, though the night was black,


s: And I laughed as the silly old bullets came,


s: For the bullet ain't made wot's got me name.


s: Yet some of 'em buzzed onhealthily near,


s: And one little blighter just chipped me ear.


s: But there! I got to the trench all right,


s: When sudden I jumped wi' a start o' fright,


s: And a word that doesn't look well in type:


s: Through shells and bombs and bullets and all--


s: Through crash and crackle, and flicker and flame,


s: (Oh, the packet ain't issued wot's got me name!)


s: And he stares like an owl, so I bash his map.


s: And I marches him back with me all serene,


s: For a parcel o' lead comes missing me head,


s: But now we are here with a song and a cheer


s: And so with a rattle we march to the battle,


s: They drive us head-on for the slaughter;


s: The issue looks bad, but we're awfully glad


s: For some must be killed, that is certain;


s: So we leap to the fray in the glorious way


s: The way grim and gory that leads us to glory


s: So grimy and hard, so calloused and scarred,


s: We've finished with trousers of scarlet,


s: With a helmet instead of a cap on our head,


s: The keep-your-head-level and fight-like-the-devil;


s: The poppies gleamed like bloody pools through cotton-woolly mist;


s: 'Twas weary work the waiting, though; I tried to sleep a wink,


s: For waitin' means a-thinkin', and it doesn't do to think.


s: So I closed my eyes a little, and I had a niceish dream


s: Of a-standin' by a dresser with a dish of Devon cream;


s: But I hadn't time to sample it, for suddenlike I woke:


s: We spread out in the open:  it was like a bath of lead;


s: And it's odd--we didn't seem to heed them corpses on the ground.


s: And I kept on thinkin', thinkin', as the bullets faster flew,


s: And a rare lad wot's a husband and a father gets done in.


s: And while havin' these reflections and advancin' on the run,


s: A bullet biffs me shoulder, and says I:  "That's number one."


s: Well, it downed me for a jiffy, but I didn't lose me calm,


s: For I knew that I was needed:  I'm a bomber, so I am.


s: I 'ad lost me cap and rifle, but I "carried on" because


s: I 'ad me bombs and knew that they was needed, so they was.


s: We didn't 'ave no singin' now, nor many men to cheer;


s: Maybe the shrapnel drowned 'em, crashin' out so werry near;


s: And the Maxims got us sideways, and the bullets faster flew,


s: And I copped one on me flipper, and says I:  "That's number two."


s: I was pleased it was the left one, for I 'ad me bombs, ye see,


s: And 'twas 'ard if they'd be wasted like, and all along o' me.


s: And I'd lost me 'at and rifle--but I told you that before,


s: So I packed me mit inside me coat and "carried on" once more.


s: But the rumpus it was wicked, and the men were scarcer yet,


s: And I felt me ginger goin', but me jaws I kindo set,


s: When something like a 'ammer smashed me savage on the knee,


s: So there I lay all 'elpless like, and bloody sick at that,


s: And worryin' like anythink, because I'd lost me 'at;


s: And thinkin' of me missis, and the partin' words she said:


s: To think I'd never 'ave the chance to 'url them at the foe.


s: And there was all our boys in front, a-fightin' there like mad,


s: And me as could 'ave 'elped 'em wiv the lovely bombs I 'ad.


s: And so I cussed and cussed, and then I struggled back again,


s: Into that bit of battered trench, packed solid with its slain.


s: Now as I lay a-lyin' there and blastin' of me lot,


s: And wishin' I could just dispose of all them bombs I'd got,


s: I sees within the doorway of a shy, retirin' dug-out


s: Six Boches all a-grinnin', and their Captain stuck 'is mug out;


s: And they 'ad a nice machine gun, and I twigged what they was at;


s: And they fixed it on a tripod, and I watched 'em like a cat;


s: And they got it in position, and they seemed so werry glad,


s: This lousy bunch of Boches they 'ad got us in the rear.


s: Oh it set me blood a-boilin' and I quite forgot me pain,


s: So I started crawlin', crawlin' over all them mounds of slain;


s: And now they're all excited like, but--I am drawin' near;


s: And now they 'ave it loaded up, and now they're takin' aim. . . .


s: And my right arm it goes swingin', and a bomb it goes a-slingin',


s: And oh that blessed moment when I heard their frightened yell,


s: We started out a thousand men, we came back thirty-five.


s: And I'm minus of a trotter, but I'm most amazin' gay,


s: You may talk o' your lutes and your dulcimers fine,


s: Your harps and your tabors and cymbals and a',


s: But here in the trenches jist gie me for mine


s: Oh, it's:  "Sandy, ma lad, will you lilt us a tune?"


s: And Sandy is willin' and trillin' like mad;


s: Sae silvery sweet that we a' throng aroun',


s: And some o' it's gay, but the maist o' it's sad.


s: Jist the wee simple airs that sink intae your hert,


s: And grup ye wi' love and wi' longin' for hame;


s: And ye glour like an owl till you're feelin' the stert


s: O' a tear, and you blink wi' a feelin' o' shame.


s: For his song's o' the heather, and here in the dirt


s: You listen and dream o' a land that's sae braw,


s: And he mak's you forget a' the harm and the hurt,


s: For he pipes like a laverock, does Sandy McGraw.


s: We rose from the trenches and swept like the gale,


s: Till the rapid-fire guns got us fell on the flank


s: And the murderin' bullets came swishin' like hail:


s: Till a' that were left o' us faltered and broke;


s: Till it seemed for a moment a panicky rout,


s: When shrill through the fume and the flash and the smoke


s: The wee valiant voice o' a whistle piped out.


s: 'The Campbells are Comin'':  Then into the fray


s: We bounded wi' bayonets reekin' and raw,


s: And oh we fair revelled in glory that day,


s: Jist thanks to the whistle o' Sandy McGraw.


s: At Loose, it wis after a sconnersome fecht,


s: On the field o' the slain I wis crawlin' aboot;


s: And the rockets were burnin' red holes in the nicht;


s: And the guns they were veciously thunderin' oot;


s: When sudden I heard a bit sound like a sigh,


s: And there in a crump-hole a kiltie I saw:


s: "Whit ails ye, ma lad?  Are ye woundit?" says I.


s: "I've lost ma wee whustle," says Sandy McGraw.


s: "'Twas oot by yon bing where we pressed the attack,


s: It drapped frae ma pooch, and between noo and dawn


s: There isna much time so I'm jist crawlin' back. . . ."


s: "Ye're daft, man!" I telt him, but Sandy wis gone.


s: Weel, I waited a wee, then I crawled oot masel,


s: And the big stuff wis gorin' and roarin' around,


s: And I seemed tae be under the oxter o' hell,


s: And Creation wis crackin' tae bits by the sound.


s: And I says in ma mind:  "Gang ye back, ye auld fule!"


s: When I thrilled tae a note that wis saucy and sma';


s: And there in a crater, collected and cool,


s: Wi' his wee penny whistle wis Sandy McGraw.


s: Ay, there he wis playin' as gleg as could be,


s: And listenin' hard wis a spectacled Boche;


s: Then Sandy turned roon' and he noddit tae me,


s: And he says:  "Dinna blab on me, Sergeant McTosh.


s: The auld chap is deein'.  He likes me tae play.


s: It's makin' him happy.  Jist see his een shine!"


s: And thrillin' and sweet in the hert o' the fray


s: Wee Sandy wis playin' 'The Watch on the Rhine'.


s: The last scene o' a'--'twas the day that we took


s: That bit o' black ruin they ca' Labbiesell.


s: It seemed the hale hillside jist shivered and shook,


s: And the red skies were roarin' and spewin' oot shell.


s: And the Sergeants were cursin' tae keep us in hand,


s: And hard on the leash we were strainin' like dugs,


s: When upward we shot at the word o' command,


s: And the bullets were dingin' their songs in oor lugs.


s: And onward we swept wi' a yell and a cheer,


s: And a' wis destruction, confusion and din,


s: And we knew that the trench o' the Boches wis near,


s: And it seemed jist the safest bit hole tae be in.


s: So we a' tumbled doon, and the Boches were there,


s: And they held up their hands, and they yelled:  "Kamarad!"


s: And I merched aff wi' ten, wi' their palms in the air,


s: And my! I wis prood-like, and my! I wis glad.


s: And I thocht:  if ma lassie could see me jist then. . . .


s: When sudden I sobered at somethin' I saw,


s: And I stopped and I stared, and I halted ma men,


s: For there on a stretcher wis Sandy McGraw.


s: Weel, he looks in ma face, jist as game as ye please:


s: "Ye ken hoo I hate tae be workin'," says he;


s: "But noo I can play in the street for bawbees,


s: Wi' baith o' ma legs taken aff at the knee."


s: And though I could see he wis rackit wi' pain,


s: He reached for his whistle and stertit tae play;


s: And quaverin' sweet wis the pensive refrain:


s: 'The floors o' the forest are a' wede away'.


s: Then sudden he stoppit:  "Man, wis it no grand


s: Hoo we took a' them trenches?" . . .  He shakit his heid:


s: Slipped the wee penny whistle and--_SANDY WIS DEID._


s: And so you may talk o' your Steinways and Strads,


s: Your wonderful organs and brasses sae braw;


s: But oot in the trenches jist gie me, ma lads,


s: 'Angs o'er the scene of wrath and wrong. . . .


s: With scarce a thought beyond the hum-drum round,


s: And jolly nights, a pipe, a glass, a friend.


s: In God's good time a hearth fire's cosy gleam,


s: A wife and kids, and all a fellow needs;


s: When presto! like a bubble goes my dream:


s: I leap upon the Stage of Splendid Deeds.


s: I yell with rage; I wallow deep in gore:


s: I, that was clerk in a drysalter's store.


s: Under the stars, propped up with smeary dead,


s: Like too, if no one takes me in, to die.


s: Hit on the arms, legs, liver, lungs and gall;


s: Damn glad there's nothing more of me to hit;


s: But calm, and feeling never pain at all,


s: For of the dead around me three are mine,


s: Three foemen vanquished in the whirl of fight;


s: I feel I've done my little bit all right.


s: I don't know how--but there the beggars are,


s: And here am I, worse wounded than I thought;


s: For in the fight a bullet bee-like stings;


s: And all alive with little flicking wings.


s: _BUT ON YOU CHARGE._  You see the fellows fall;


s: Your pal was by your side, fair fighting-mad;


s: You wonder vaguely if he's copped it bad.


s: _BUT ON YOU CHARGE._  The heavens vomit death;


s: And vicious death is besoming the ground.


s: You're blind with sweat; you're dazed, and out of breath,


s: And though you yell, you cannot hear a sound.


s: _BUT ON YOU CHARGE._  Oh, War's a rousing game!


s: Around you smoky clouds like ogres tower;


s: The earth is rowelled deep with spurs of flame,


s: And on your helmet stones and ashes shower.


s: _BUT ON YOU CHARGE._  It's odd!  You have no fear.


s: Machine-gun bullets whip and lash your path;


s: Red, yellow, black the smoky giants rear;


s: The shrapnel rips, the heavens roar in wrath.


s: _BUT ON YOU CHARGE._  Barbed wire all trampled down.


s: The ground all gored and rent as by a blast;


s: Grim heaps of grey where once were heaps of brown;


s: A ragged ditch--the Hun first line at last.


s: All smashed to hell.  Their second right ahead,


s: _SO ON YOU CHARGE._  There's nothing else to do.


s: More reeking holes, blood, barbed wire, gruesome dead;


s: (Your puttee strap's undone--that worries you).


s: You glare around.  You think you're all alone.


s: But no; your chums come surging left and right.


s: The nearest chap flops down without a groan,


s: His face still snarling with the rage of fight.


s: Ha! here's the second trench--just like the first,


s: More pounded, flame-corroded, death-accurst;


s: Now for the third, and there your job is done,


s: _SO ON YOU CHARGE._  You never stop to think.


s: Your cursed puttee's trailing as you run;


s: You feel you'd sell your soul to have a drink.


s: The acrid air is full of cracking whips.


s: You wonder how it is you're going still.


s: You foam with rage.  Oh, God! to be at grips


s: With someone you can rush and crush and kill.


s: Your sleeve is dripping blood; you're seeing red;


s: You're battle-mad; your turn is coming now.


s: See! there's the jagged barbed wire straight ahead,


s: And there's the trench--you'll get there anyhow.


s: Your puttee catches on a strand of wire,


s: And down you go; perhaps it saves your life,


s: Crop-headed chaps, their eyes ablaze with strife.


s: You crawl, you cower; then once again you plunge


s: With all your comrades roaring at your heels.


s: _HAVE AT 'EM, LADS!_  You stab, you jab, you lunge;


s: A blaze of glory, then the red world reels.


s: A crash of triumph, then . . . you're faint a bit . . .


s: That cursed puttee!  Now to fasten it. . . .


s: Well, that's the charge.  And now I'm here alone.


s: To shield me from the leaden bees that drone


s: (It saves me worry, and it hurts 'em none).


s: Some stretcher-men will stroll along my way?


s: It isn't much that's left of me, but then


s: Where life is, hope is, so at least they say.


s: Well, if I'm spared I'll be the happy lad.


s: I've stood the racket, and I'm proud and glad;


s: I've had my crowning hour.  Oh, War's the thing!


s: It gives us common, working chaps our chance,


s: Ay, War, they say, is hell; it's heaven, too.


s: It takes his measure, shows what he can do,


s: Gives him a joy like nothing else on earth.


s: Would flicker out, these drab, discordant days;


s: Faith, fortitude, grim courage past all praise.


s: Yes, War is good.  So here beside my slain,


s: For even if I perish mine's the gain. . . .


s: Hi, there, you fellows!  WON'T you take me in?


s: We've taken La Boiselle!  The hell, you say!


s: Well, that would make a corpse sit up and grin. . . .


s: Lead on!  I'll live to fight another day.


s: Since grim, eternal laws our Being bind;


s: And both the riddle and the answer find,


s: And both the carnage and the calm decree;


s: And mortal puppets playing parts are we:


s: Then let's have faith; good cometh out of ill;


s: The power that shaped the strife shall end the strife;


s: Then let's bow down before the Unknown Will;


s: Fight on, believing all is well with life;


s: Seeing within the worst of War's red rage


s: 'Ave you seen Bill's mug in the Noos to-day?


s: 'E's gyned the Victoriar Cross, they say;


s: Little Bill wot would grizzle and run away,


s: 'E's slaughtered the Kaiser's men in tons;


s: 'E's captured one of their quick-fire guns,


s: And 'e 'adn't no practice in killin' 'Uns


s: Little Bill wot I nussed in 'is by-by clothes;


s: Little Bill wot told me 'is childish woes;


s: 'Ow often I've tidied 'is pore little nose


s: And now all the papers 'is praises ring,


s: And 'e's been and 'e's shaken the 'and of the King


s: And I sawr 'im to-day in the ward, pore thing,


s: Where they're patchin' 'im up once more.


s: And 'e says:  "Wot d'ye think of it, Lizer Ann?"


s: And I says:  "Well, I can't make it out, old man;


s: And 'e whispers:  "'Ere, on the quiet, Liz,


s: They're makin' too much of the 'ole damn biz,


s: And the papers is printin' me ugly phiz,


s: But . . . I'm 'anged if I know wot I did.


s: "Oh, the Captain comes and 'e says:  'Look 'ere!


s: They're far too quiet out there:  it's queer.


s: They're up to somethin'--'oo'll volunteer


s: And up jumps a chap and 'e says:  'Right O!'


s: But I chips in straight, and I says 'Oh no!


s: "And the next I knew I was sneakin' out,


s: And I sez:  'You coward!  You 'ad no right


s: To take on the job of a man this night,'


s: Yet still I kept creepin' till ('orrid sight!)


s: "It was all so dark, it was all so still;


s: Yet somethin' pushed me against me will;


s: 'Ow I wanted to turn!  Yet I crawled until


s: Then thinks I:  'I'll just go a little bit,


s: And see wot the doose I can make of it,'


s: And it seemed to come from the mouth of a pit:


s: "Then 'ere's the part wot I can't explain:


s: But somethin' was blazin' inside me brain,


s: "Then all the 'Uns that was underground,


s: Comes up with a rush and on with a bound,


s: 'If I'm sellin' me life,' sez I, 'it's dear.'


s: And the trench was narrow and they was near,


s: "So I 'eld 'em back and I yelled wiv fright,


s: And the boys attacked and we 'ad a fight,


s: And we 'captured a section o' trench' that night


s: And they found me there with me Maxim gun,


s: And I'd laid out a score if I'd laid out one,


s: And I fainted away when the thing was done,


s: But 'e's convalescin' wiv all 'is might,


s: And 'e 'opes to be fit for another fight--


s: Say!  Ain't 'e a bit of the real all right?


s: Missis Moriarty called last week, and says she to me, says she:


s: "Sure the heart of me's broken entirely now--


s: You've still got your Dinnis to cheer up your home,


s: Lyin' alone, cold as a stone, kilt in the weariful wahr.


s: Oh, I'm seein' him now as I looked on him last,


s: Was I weepin' for Missis Moriarty?  I'm not so sure about that.


s: Missis Moriarty goes about wid a shinin' look on her face;


s: Wid her grey hair under her ould black shawl,


s: _GURR!_  You 'cochon'!  Stand and fight!


s: Sparks from brands your friends have lit.


s: Bright with blood your friends have shed.


s: Show you mercy?  No! . . . and no! . . .


s: Just such frank blue eyes were his. . . .


s: 'The things I've seen!  Oh, mother dear,


s: I've got a little job on 'and, the time is drawin' nigh;


s: At seven by the Captain's watch I'm due to go and do it;


s: I wants to 'ave it nice and neat, and pleasin' to the eye,


s: And I 'opes the God of soldier men will see me safely through it.


s: And till you 'as experience noo stunts is always tryin';


s: The chances is I'll never 'ave to do it any more:


s: At seven by the Captain's watch my little job is . . . _DYIN'._


s: I've got a little note to write; I'd best begin it now.


s: A little job of hand-grenades; they called for volunteers.


s: If anythin' should 'appen, well, there ain't no call for tears,


s: I've got a little score to settle wiv them swine out there.


s: I've 'ad so many of me pals done in it's quite upset me.


s: I've seen so much of bloody death I don't seem for to care,


s: If I can only even up, how soon the blighters get me.


s: I'm sorry for them perishers that corpses in a bed;


s: I only 'opes mine's short and sweet, no linger-longer-lyin';


s: I've made a mess of life, but now I'll try to make instead . . .


s: If by the Victory all we mean is a broken and brooding foe;


s: Victory! there can be but one, hallowed in every land:


s: When by the graves of our common dead we who were foemen stand;


s: And in the hush of our common grief hand is tendered to hand.


s: There were two brothers, John and James,


s: James stayed at home and--sneaked his job.


s: To find that James had--sneaked his girl!


s: Time passed.  John tried his grief to drown;


s: _Give me the scorn of the stars and a peak defiant;


s: Wail of the pines and a wind with the shout of a giant;


s: Night and a trail unknown and a heart reliant._


s: Give me to live and love in the old, bold fashion;


s: A soldier's billet at night and a soldier's ration;


s: A heart that leaps to the fight with a soldier's passion.


s: For I hold as a simple faith there's no denying:


s: The trade of a soldier's the only trade worth plying;


s: The death of a soldier's the only death worth dying.


s: So let me go and leave your safety behind me;


s: Go to the spaces of hazard where nothing shall bind me;


s: Go till the word is War--and then you will find me.


s: Then you will call me and claim me because you will need me;


s: Cheer me and gird me and into the battle-wrath speed me. . . .


s: And when it's over, spurn me and no longer heed me.


s: For guile and a purse gold-greased are the arms you carry;


s: With deeds of paper you fight and with pens you parry;


s: You call on the hounds of the law your foes to harry.


s: You with your "Art for its own sake", posing and prinking;


s: You with your "Live and be merry", eating and drinking;


s: You with your "Peace at all hazard", from bright blood shrinking.


s: Fools!  I will tell you now:  though the red rain patters,


s: And a million of men go down, it's little it matters. . . .


s: There's a glory gold never can buy to yearn and to cry for;


s: There's a hope that's as old as the sky to suffer and sigh for;


s: There's a faith that out-dazzles the sun to martyr and die for.


s: Ah no! it's my dream that War will never be ended;


s: That men will perish like men, and valour be splendid;


s: That the Flag by the sword will be served, and honour defended.


s: That the tale of my fights will never be ancient story;


s: That though my eye may be dim and my beard be hoary,


s: I'll die as a soldier dies on the Field of Glory.


s: _So give me a strong right arm for a wrong's swift righting;


s: Stave of a song on my lips as my sword is smiting;


s: Death in my boots may-be, but fighting, fighting._


s: "Come on, lads!" he shouts, "and we'll show 'em."


s: Then some bally thing seemed to trip him,


s: and he fell on his face with a slam. . . .


s: Oh, he died like a true British soldier,


s: and the last word he uttered was "Damn!"


s: I felt as if something had broken; by gad! I was suddenly free.


s: Free for a glorified moment, beyond regulations and laws,


s: and the "krock" and the swish of the shrap;


s: And I found myself humming "Ben Bolt" . . .


s: Battle-tuned and exultant, on in the leaden rain.


s: Then all at once a machine gun barks from a bit of a bank,


s: And our Major roars in a fury:  "We've got to take it on flank."


s: Well, that little job was over, so hell for leather we ran,


s: On to the second line trenches,--that's where the fun began.


s: The skirts that the girls are wearing, ridiculous fluffy things,


s: but the fifth chap, a sergeant, was game,


s: And though I'd a bomb and revolver he came at me just the same.


s: I look across the mist that masks the dead;


s: The moon is tired and gives but little light,


s: The earth is sick and seems to breathe with pain;


s: I do not see the foul, corpse-cluttered plain,


s: The slain I _WOULD_ not see . . . and so I lift


s: My eyes from out the shambles where they lie;


s: The cheeks of some are channelled deep with tears;


s: But some are tearless, with wild eyes that stare


s: And some are young, and some are very old;


s: And some are rich, some poor beyond belief;


s: Yet all are strangely like, set in the mould


s: They fill the vast of Heaven, face on face;


s: And then I see one weeping with the rest,


s: Whose eyes beseech me for a moment's space. . . .


s: Nay, I but dream.  The sky is all forlorn,


s: And there's the plain of battle writhing red:


s: God pity them, the women-folk who mourn!


s: My job is done; my rhymes are ranked and ready,


s: My word-battalions marching verse by verse;


s: Here stanza-companies are none too steady;


s: There print-platoons are weak, but might be worse.


s: And as in marshalled order I review them,


s: My type-brigades, unfearful of the fray,


s: My eyes that seek their faults are seeing through them


s: The hidden heavies round me crash and thud;


s: A spire snaps like a pipe-stem in the valley;


s: Along the road the "fantassins" are pouring,


s: And some are gay as fire, and some steel-stern. . . .


s: Then back again I see the red tide pouring,


s: The Hun lines grey and peaceful in my sight;


s: A "coal-box" blots the "boyou" on my right.


s: Past sentinels who hail with bated breath;


s: Where not a cigarette spark's dim revealing


s: May hint our mission in that zone of death.


s: I see across the shrapnel-seeded meadows


s: Blood-guilty Fricourt brooding in the shadows,


s: And Thiepval's chateau empty as a shell.


s: Down Albert's riven streets the moon is leering;


s: The Hanging Virgin takes its bitter ray;


s: And all the road from Hamel I am hearing


s: Once more within the sky's deep sapphire hollow


s: I sight a swimming Taube, a fairy thing;


s: I watch the angry shell flame flash and follow


s: In feather puffs that flick a tilted wing;


s: And then it fades, with shrapnel mirror's flashing;


s: The flashes bloom to blossoms lily gold;


s: And life is just as full as it can hold.


s: Oh spacious days of glory and of grieving!


s: Oh sounding hours of lustre and of loss!


s: Let us be glad we lived you, still believing


s: The God who gave the cannon gave the Cross.


s: Let us be sure amid these seething passions,


s: The lusts of blood and hate our souls abhor:


s: The Power that Order out of Chaos fashions


s: Smites fiercest in the wrath-red forge of War. . . .


s: Have faith!  Fight on!  Amid the battle-hell


s: Love triumphs, Freedom beacons, all is well.


s: The Spell of the Yukon (1907) a.k.a. Songs of a Sourdough


s: The Complete Poems (1947?)  [This is simply a compilation


s: Ploughman of the Moon (1945)  | A two-volume


s: Harper of Heaven (1948)       | autobiography.


s: {Cro' Nest, from above West Point, on the Hudson River: p0.jpg}


s: "My visual orbs are purged from film, and lo!


s: "Instead of Anster's turnip-bearing vales


s: "I see old fairy land's miraculous show!


s: "Her trees of tinsel kissed by freakish gales,


s: "Her Ouphs that, cloaked in leaf-gold, skim the breeze,


s: 'Tis the middle watch of a summer's night--


s: The earth is dark, but the heavens are bright;


s: But the moon, and the stars, and the cloudless sky,


s: And the flood which rolls its milky hue,


s: She mellows the shades on his shaggy breast,


s: And through their clustering branches dark


s: Glimmers and dies the fire-fly's spark--


s: Like starry twinkles that momently break


s: Through the rifts of the gathering tempest's rack.


s: The winds are whist, and the owl is still,


s: But the cricket's chirp, and the answer shrill


s: And the plaint of the wailing whip-poor-will,


s: The wood-tick has kept the minutes well;


s: He has counted them all with click and stroke,


s: Who sleeps with him in the haunted tree,


s: Twelve small strokes on his tinkling bell--


s: ('Twas made of the white snail's pearly shell:--)


s: They creep from the mullen's velvet screen;


s: From the silver tops of moon-touched trees,


s: Where they swung in their cobweb hammocks high,


s: And pillowed on plumes of his rainbow breast,


s: Had slumbered there till the charmed hour;


s: And now they throng the moonlight glade,


s: And his peers were ranged around the throne.


s: But his voice in a softened accent broke:


s: Thy flame-wood lamp is quenched and dark,


s: And thy wings are dyed with a deadly stain--


s: Tossed on the pricks of nettles' stings;


s: Of the worm, and the bug, and the murdered fly:


s: Had a stain been found on the earthly fair.


s: Till the sturgeon leaps in the bright moonshine,


s: And vain are the woodland spirits' charms,


s: If thy heart be pure and thy spirit right,


s: The last faint spark of its burning train


s: Through groves of nightshade dark and dern,


s: Where toils the ant and sleeps the snake;


s: Till its points are dyed in fairy blood.


s: He has leapt the bog, he has pierced the briar,


s: He has swum the brook, and waded the mire,


s: Till his spirits sank, and his limbs grew weak,


s: For rugged and dim was his onward track,


s: And he laughed as he jumped upon her back;


s: He bridled her mouth with a silk-weed twist;


s: He lashed her sides with an osier thong;


s: Till the mountain's magic verge is past,


s: And the beach of sand is reached at last.


s: Is heard the splash of the sturgeon's leap,


s: And the bend of his graceful bow is seen--


s: And dripping with gems of the river dew.


s: As he lighted down from his courser toad,


s: Then round his breast his wings he wound,


s: And close to the river's brink he strode;


s: He sprang on a rock, he breathed a prayer,


s: And headlong plunged in the waters blue.


s: From sea-silk beds in their coral caves,


s: With snail-plate armour snatched in haste,


s: They speed their way through the liquid waste;


s: On the mailed shrimp or the prickly prong,


s: And some on the jellied quarl, that flings


s: His hope is high, and his limbs are strong,


s: He spreads his arms like the swallow's wing,


s: And throws his feet with a frog-like fling;


s: But the water-sprites are gathering near


s: On his thigh the leech has fixed his hold,


s: The quarl's long arms are round him roll'd,


s: And the crab has struck with his giant claw;


s: He howls with rage, and he shrieks with pain,


s: He strikes around, but his blows are vain;


s: And laid his cheek to the cleaving tide.


s: The strokes of his plunging arms are fleet,


s: And with all his might he flings his feet,


s: But the water-sprites are round him still,


s: And they stunned his ears with the scallop stroke,


s: With the porpoise heave and the drum-fish croak.


s: When he reached the foot of the dog-wood tree;


s: --Gashed and wounded, and stiff and sore,


s: He blessed the force of the charmed line,


s: For he saw around in the sweet moonshine,


s: Giggling and laughing with all their might


s: From the sorrel leaf and the henbane bud;


s: And with cobweb lint he stanched the blood.


s: And he felt new life in his sinews shoot,


s: As he drank the juice of the cal'mus root;


s: When, glittering on the shadowed ground,


s: He heaved at the stern and he heaved at the bow,


s: And he pushed her over the yielding sand,


s: Till he came to the verge of the haunted land.


s: For she glowed with purple paint without,


s: Then spung to his seat with a lightsome leap,


s: And launched afar on the calm blue deep.


s: But they heaved the billow before the prow,


s: And they dashed the surge against her side,


s: And they struck her keel with jerk and blow,


s: Till the gunwale bent to the rocking tide.


s: Like a feather that floats on a wind tossed-stream;


s: And the fluttering scallop behind would float,


s: But he bailed her out with his colen-bell,


s: And he kept her trimmed with a wary tread,


s: While on every side like lightening fell


s: Till he came where the column of moonshine lay,


s: But he sculled with all his might and main,


s: Thy wings are pure, for the gem is won--


s: And the track o'er which his boat must pass


s: Around, their limbs the sea-nymphs lave,


s: He kissed the beach and breathed a prayer,


s: And shine with a thousand changing dyes,


s: Till lessening far through ether driven,


s: And gleams with blendings soft and bright,


s: Till lost in the shades of fading night;


s: It was plumed of the silk of the thistle down:


s: The corslet plate that guarded his breast


s: His shield was the shell of a lady-bug queen,


s: And the quivering lance which he brandished bright,


s: Was the sting of a wasp he had slain in fight.


s: He bared his blade of the bent grass blue;


s: And away like a glance of thought he flew,


s: Crept under the leaf, and hid her there;


s: And folded his wings till the Fay was gone,


s: And fell on the ground as if he were dead;


s: They crouched them close in the darksome shade,


s: And writhed at the prick of the elfin spear;


s: When the sky was clear and the moon was bright,


s: They had been roused from the haunted ground,


s: They had heard of twang of the maize-silk string,


s: When the vine-twig bows were tightly drawn,


s: And the nettle-shaft through the air was borne,


s: Feathered with down the hum-bird's wing.


s: And they watched till they saw him mount the roof


s: Till the first light cloud in heaven is past,


s: But the shapes of air have begun their work,


s: He shivers with cold, but he urges fast,


s: Through storm and darkness, sleet and shade,


s: For shadowy hands have twitched the rein,


s: And flame-shot tongues around him played,


s: The plume hangs dripping from his crest,


s: His eyes are blur'd with the lightning's glare,


s: And his ears are stunned with the thunder's blare,


s: But he gave a shout, and his blade he drew,


s: Till he pierced their cloudy bodies through,


s: And the land of clouds beneath him lies.


s: Till he came to the bank of the milky-way,


s: And watched for the glimpse of the planet-shoot.


s: That swelled to meet their footstep's fall,


s: The sylphs of heaven were seen to glide,


s: 'Twas tied with threads of dawning gold,


s: And the diamond gems which round it gleam


s: That ne'er have left their native heaven.


s: She raised her eyes to the wondering sprite,


s: And they leapt with smiles, for well I ween


s: Had the form of an earthly Fay been seen.


s: Long with his butterfly cloak she played;


s: And 'O sweet spirit of earth,' she cried,


s: 'Return no more to your woodland height,


s: And he thought of the light flush on her cheek;


s: 'Lady,' he cried, 'I have sworn to-night,


s: And called the sylphs who hovered there,


s: And bade them fly and bring him straight


s: With charm and spell she blessed it there,


s: And pressed his hand as she bade him fly


s: Till the hoof-strokes fall like pattering rain.


s: As swift as the glance of the arrowy lance


s: The star-shot flew o'er the welkin blue,


s: As swift as the wind in its trail behind


s: The fiends of the clouds are bellowing loud,


s: He gallops unhurt in the shower of fire,


s: While the cloud-fiends fly from the blaze;


s: He watches each flake till its sparks expire,


s: But he drove his steed to the lightning's speed,


s: Then wheeled around to the fairy ground,


s: The hill-tops gleam in morning's spring,


s: Yes, faint was my applause and cold my praise,


s: Though soul was glowing in each polished line;


s: But nobler subjects claim the poet's lays,


s: A brighter glory waits a muse like thine.


s: Let amorous fools in love-sick measure pine;


s: Let Strangford whimper on, in fancied pain,


s: And leave to Moore his rose leaves and his vine;


s: Be thine the task a higher crown to gain,


s: The envied wreath that decks the patriot's holy strain.


s: Or martial ode, or sad sepulchral dirge,


s: There needs no voice to make our glories known;


s: There needs no voice the warrior's soul to urge


s: To tread the bounds of nature's stormy verge;


s: Columbia still shall win the battle's prize;


s: To strike her harp, until its soul arise


s: From the neglected shade, where low in dust it lies.


s: Are there no scenes to touch the poet's soul?


s: No deeds of arms to wake the lordly strain?


s: Has Warren fought, Montgomery died in vain?


s: Shame! that while every mountain stream and plain


s: Hath theme for truth's proud voice or fancy's wand,


s: No native bard the patriot harp hath ta'en,


s: But left to minstrels of a foreign strand


s: To sing the beauteous scenes of nature's loveliest land.


s: That I might scan the glorious prospect round,


s: Wild waving woods, and rolling floods below,


s: Smooth level glades and fields with grain embrown'd,


s: High heaving hills, with tufted forests crown'd,


s: Rearing their tall tops to the heaven's blue dome,


s: And emerald isles, like banners green unwound,


s: Floating along the lake, while round them roam


s: Bright helms of billowy blue and plumes of dancing foam.


s: 'Tis true no fairies haunt our verdant meads,


s: No grinning imps deform our blazing hearth;


s: Beneath the kelpie's fang no traveller bleeds,


s: Nor spectres stalk to frighten harmless mirth,


s: Nor tortured demon howls adown the gale;


s: Fair reason checks these monsters in their birth.


s: Would dim the manliest eye and make the bravest pale.


s: Where is the stony eye that hath not shed


s: Compassion's heart-drops o'er the sweet Mc Rea?


s: Through midnight's wilds by savage bandits led,


s: "Her heart is sad--her love is far away!"


s: When he shall clasp his blooming bride again--


s: Shine on, sweet visions! dreams of rapture, play!


s: Soon the cold corse of her he loved in vain


s: Shall blight his withered heart and fire his frenzied brain.


s: To wake a native harp's untutored sound,


s: And give thy tale of wo the voice of song?


s: Oh! if description's cold and nerveless tongue


s: From stranger harps such hallowed strains could call,


s: How doubly sweet the descant wild had rung,


s: From one who, lingering round thy ruined wall,


s: Had plucked thy mourning flowers and wept thy timeless fall.


s: The Huron chief escaped from foemen nigh,


s: His frail bark launches on Niagara's tides,


s: "Pride in his port, defiance in his eye,"


s: Singing his song of death the warrior glides;


s: In vain they yell along the river sides,


s: In vain the arrow from its sheaf is torn,


s: Calm to his doom the willing victim rides,


s: And, till adown the roaring torrent borne,


s: Mocks them with gesture proud, and laughs their rage to scorn.


s: But if the charms of daisied hill and vale,


s: And rolling flood, and towering rock sublime,


s: Of love or wo should fail to wake the rhyme,


s: If to the wildest heights of song you climb,


s: (Tho' some who know you less, might cry, beware!)


s: Onward! I say--your strains shall conquer time;


s: Give your bright genius wing, and hope to share


s: Imagination's worlds--the ocean, earth, and air.


s: Arouse, my friend--let vivid fancy soar,


s: Look with creative eye on nature's face,


s: And spread a train of nymphs on every shore;


s: And rear the wondrous tale of legendary lore.


s: Where, throned in mountain mist, Areouski reigns,


s: Shrouding in lurid clouds his plumeless wings,


s: And sternly sorrowing o'er his tribes remains;


s: His was the arm, like comet ere it wanes


s: That tore the streamy lightnings from the skies,


s: And smote the mammoth of the southern plains;


s: Wild with dismay the Creek affrighted flies,


s: While in triumphant pride Kanawa's eagles rise.


s: Or westward far, where dark Miami wends,


s: Seek that fair spot as yet to fame unknown;


s: Where, when the vesper dew of heaven descends,


s: Soft music breathes in many a melting tone,


s: At times so sadly sweet it seems the moan


s: Of some poor Ariel penanced in the rock;


s: And now amid the tempest's reeling shock,


s: Gibber, and shriek, and wail--and fiend-like laugh and mock.


s: Till, waked to wrath, the mighty spirit rose


s: And pent the demons in their prison cell;


s: Full on their head the uprooted mountain fell,


s: Straight from the teeming earth the waters swell,


s: And pillared rocks arise in cheerless gloom


s: Around the drear abode--their last eternal tomb!


s: Be these your future themes--no more resign


s: The soul of song to laud your lady's eyes;


s: Go! kneel a worshipper at nature's shrine!


s: For you her fields are green, and fair her skies!


s: For you her rivers flow, her hills arise!


s: And will you scorn them all, to pour forth tame


s: And heartless lays of feigned or fancied sighs?


s: Still will you cloud the muse? nor blush for shame


s: To cast away renown, and hide your head from fame?


s: A warm, yet freshening glow is in the air;


s: Along its bank, the cool stream wanders slow,


s: Like parting friends that linger as they go.


s: The willows, as its waters meekly glide,


s: Bend their dishevelled tresses to the tide,


s: And seem to give it, with a moaning sigh,


s: Each dusky copse is clad in darkest green:


s: A blackening mass, just edged with silver sheen


s: From yon clear moon, who in her glassy face


s: Seems to reflect the risings of the place.


s: For on her still, pale orb, the eye may see


s: Dim spots of shadowy brown, like distant tree


s: The stars have lit in heaven their lamps of gold,


s: The viewless dew falls lightly on the wold,


s: The gentle air, that softly sweeps the leaves,


s: A strain of faint, unearthly music weaves;


s: As when the harp of heaven remotely plays,


s: Or cygnet's wail--or song of sorrowing fays


s: That float amid the moonshine glimmerings pale,


s: On wings of woven air in some enchanted vale.


s: It is an eve that drops a heavenly balm,


s: To bid wild passion's fiery flush depart;


s: And smooth the troubled waters of the heart;


s: A cherished gloom, that wishes not relief.


s: Torn is that heart, and bitter are its throes,


s: That cannot feel on such a night, repose;


s: And yet one breast there is that breathes this air,


s: An eye that wanders o'er the prospect fair,


s: That sees yon placid moon, and the pure sky


s: Of mild, unclouded blue; and still that eye


s: Or cast, in gloomy trance, on the cold ground;


s: And still, that breast with maddening passion burns,


s: And hatred, love, and sorrow, rule by turns.


s: When pleasure laugh'd abroad from hall and bower,


s: The general eye had deem'd her smiling face


s: So glossy is her hair's ensabled wreath,


s: So glowing warm the eye that burns beneath


s: With so much graceful sweetness of address,


s: Ah! where is he on whom these beauties shine,


s: But deems a spotless soul inhabits such a shrine?


s: Strange passions lurking in her deep black eye,


s: And in the lines of her fine lip, a soul


s: That in its every feeling spurned control.


s: They passed unnoted--who will stop to trace


s: A sullying spot on beauty's sparkling face?


s: And no one deemed, amid her glances sweet,


s: Formed but to madly love--or madly hate;


s: A spirit of strong throbs, and steadfast will;


s: To doat, detest, to die for, or to kill;


s: Which, like the Arab chief, would fiercely dare


s: To stab the heart she might no longer share;


s: Would die to save his breast one moment's pain.


s: And read the traces written on her brow,


s: Had scarce believed hers was that form of light


s: That beamed like fabled wonder on the sight;


s: Her raven hair hung down in loosen'd tress


s: Before her wan cheek's pallid ghastliness;


s: And, thro' its thick locks, showed the deadly white,


s: Like marble glimpses of a tomb, at night.


s: In fixed and horrid musings now she stands,


s: Her eyes now bent to earth, and her cold hands,


s: Prest to her heart, now wildly thrown on high,


s: They wander o'er her brow--and now a sigh


s: Breaks deep and full--and, more composedly,


s: She half exclaims--"No! no!--it cannot be;


s: "He loves not, never loved-- not even when


s: "He pressed my wedded hand--I knew it then;


s: "And yet--fool that I was--I saw he strove


s: "But Florence! she so loved--a sister too!


s: "My earliest, dearest playmate--one who grew


s: "His falsehood I could bear--but hers! ah! no.


s: "She is not false--I feel she loves me yet,


s: "Its wild imaginings, with what sweet pain


s: "I'd clasp my Florence to my breast again."


s: With that came many a thought of days gone by,


s: And youth's gay frolic, and the short-lived flow


s: Of showering tears, in childhood's fleeting wo,


s: And life's maturer friendship--and the sense


s: Of heart-warm, open, fearless confidence;


s: All these came thronging with a tender call,


s: And her own Florence mingled with them all.


s: And softened feelings rose amid her pain,


s: While from her eyes, the clouds, melted in gentle rain.


s: A hectic pleasure flushed her faded face;


s: It fled--and deeper paleness took its place;


s: Then a cold shudder thrill'd her--and, at last,


s: As if she scorned herself, that she could be


s: A moment lulled by that sweet sophistry;


s: For in that little minute memory's sting


s: Gave word and look, sigh, gesture--every thing,


s: To bid these dear delusive phantoms fly,


s: And fix her fears in dreadful certainty.


s: It traced the very progress of their love,


s: From the first meeting in the locust grove;


s: When from the chase Leon came bounding there,


s: His brown cheek flushed with healthful exercise,


s: And his warm spirits leaping in his eyes;


s: It told how lovely looked her sister then,


s: To long-lost friends, and home just come again;


s: How on her cheek the tears of meeting lay,


s: That tear which only feeling hearts can pay;


s: While the quick pleasure glistened in her eye,


s: Like clouds and sunshine in an April sky;


s: And then it told, as their acquaintance grew,


s: How close the unseen bonds of union drew


s: Their souls together, and how pleased they were


s: The same blythe pastimes and delights to share;


s: How the same chord in each at once would strike,


s: Their taste, their wishes, and their joys alike.


s: All this was innocent, but soon there came


s: Blushes and starts of consciousness and shame;


s: That, when she entered, upon either cheek


s: The hasty blood in guilty red would speak


s: Of something that should not be known--and still


s: Sighs half suppressed seemed struggling with the will.


s: And in the night, how many a broken dream


s: Of bliss, or terror, seemed to shake his frame.


s: How Florence too, in long abstracted fit


s: Of soul-wrapt musing, for whole hours would sit;


s: Nor even the power of music, friend, or book,


s: Could chase her deep forgetfulness of look;


s: And how, when questioned--with an indrawn sigh,


s: In vague and far-off phrase, she made reply,


s: And smiled and struggled to be gay and free,


s: How when of Leon she was forced to speak,


s: And when he entered, how her eye would swim,


s: And strive to look on every one but him;


s: In quick short glance each moment tow'rds him fled.


s: How he, too, seemed to shun her speech and gaze,


s: And yet he always lingered where she was;


s: Told that he knew she was in presence there;


s: But an appearance of constrained distress,


s: And a dull tongue of moveless silentness,


s: And a down drooping eye of gloom and sadness,


s: Oh! how unlike his former face of gladness.


s: "'Tis plain! too plain! and I am lost," she cried;


s: And in that thought her last good feeling died.


s: That thought of hopeless sorrow seemed to dart


s: A thousand stings at once into her heart;


s: But a strong effort quelled it, and she gave


s: The next to hatred, vengeance, and the grave.


s: Her face was calmly stern, and but a glare


s: Within her eyes--there was no feature there


s: That told what lashing fiends her inmates were;


s: Within--there was no thought to bid her swerve


s: From her intent--but every strained nerve


s: Was settled and bent up with terrible force,


s: To some deep deed, far, far beyond remorse;


s: No glimpse of mercy's light her purpose crost,


s: Love, nature, pity, in its depths were lost;


s: That seared her soul with unconsuming fire;


s: All that was dear in the wide earth was gone,


s: She loved but two, and these she doted on


s: With passionate ardour--and the close strong press


s: Of woman's heart-cored, clinging tenderness;


s: These links were torn, and now she stood alone,


s: Bereft of all, her husband, sister--gone!


s: Ah! who can tell that ne'er has known such fate,


s: What wild and dreadful strength it gives to hate?


s: What had she left? Revenge!  Revenge! was there;


s: He crushed remorse and wrestled down despair:


s: Held his red torch to memory's page, and threw


s: She felt dark pleasure with her frenzy blend,


s: And hugged him to her heart, and called him friend.


s: When sorrowing clouds the face of heaven deform,


s: And hope's bright star sets darkly in the storm,


s: Around us ghastly shapes and phantoms swim,


s: And all beyond is formless, vague, and dim,


s: Or life's cold barren path before us lies,


s: A wild and weary waste of tears and sighs;


s: From the lorn heart each sweetening solace gone,


s: Abandoned, friendless, withered, lost, and lone;


s: And when with keener pangs we bleed to know


s: That hands beloved have struck the deepest blow;


s: That friends we deemed most true, and held most dear,


s: Have stretched the pall of death o'er pleasure's bier;


s: Repaid our trusting faith with serpent guile,


s: Cursed with a kiss, and stabbed beneath a smile;


s: What then remains for souls of tender mould?


s: One last and silent refuge, calm and cold--


s: A resting place for misery's gentle slave;


s: Hearts break but once, no wrongs can reach the grave.


s: Rest ye, mild spirits of afflicted worth!


s: Sweet is your slumber in the quiet earth;


s: And soon the voice of heaven shall bid you rise


s: To meet rewarding smiles in yonder skies.


s: But where, for solace, shall the bosom turn


s: For death too strong--for tears--too proudly stern?


s: When shall the lulling dews of peace descend


s: On hearts that cannot break and will not bend?


s: Ah! never, never--they are doomed to feel


s: Pains that no balm of heaven or earth can heal;


s: To live in groans, and yield their parting breath


s: Without a joy in life--or hope in death.


s: Yet, for a while, one living hope remains,


s: That nerves each fibre and the soul sustains;


s: One desperate hope, whose agonizing throes


s: Are bitterer far than all the worst of woes;


s: A hope of crime and horrors, wild and strange


s: As demon thoughts--that hope is thine, Revenge!


s: 'Twas this that gave, oh! Ellinor, to thee


s: A strength to bear thy matchless misery:


s: Though the hot blood ran boiling in her brain,


s: And rolled a tide of fire through every vein,


s: Though many a rushing voice of blighted bliss


s: Struck on her mental ears, like adders' hiss;


s: That hope gave gloomy fierceness to her eye,


s: Dash'd down the tear, repress'd the unloading sigh;


s: Fixed her wan quivering lip, and steeled her breast


s: To crush the hearts that robbed her own of rest.


s: Of arching boughs, in broad-spread leaves arrayed;


s: Which, clustering close and thick, shut out the light,


s: And tinged with black the shadowy robe of night;


s: Of flickering moonshine glimmered through the dark,


s: Through suffering tears, the looks of sorrow fall;


s: A wider space the severing trees divide;


s: And longer gleams upon the pathway meet,


s: And the soft grass is wet beneath her feet.


s: And now emerging from the darksome shade,


s: She pressed the silken carpet of the glade.


s: Beyond the green, within its western close,


s: Where the pale lustre of the moony flood


s: Dimm'd the vermillion'd woodbine's scarlet bud;


s: And glancing through the foliage fluttering round,


s: In tiny circles gemm'd the freckled ground.


s: Beside the porch, beneath the friendly screen


s: Of two tall trees, a mossy bank was seen;


s: The wild-wood pansy rear'd her petals blue;


s: And gold cups and the meadow cowslip red,


s: Unheeded all the grove's deep gloom had been,


s: Unseen the moonlight brightness of the green;


s: In vain the stream's blue burnish met her eye,


s: Lovely its wave, but pass'd unnoticed by:


s: The airs of heaven had breath'd around her brow


s: Their cooling sighs--she felt them not--but now


s: That lonely bower appeared, and with a start


s: Convulsive shudders thrill'd her throbbing heart.


s: For there, in days, alas! for ever gone,


s: When love's young torch with beams of rapture shone,


s: When she had felt her heart's impassioned swell,


s: And almost deem'd her Leon loved as well;


s: There had she sat, beneath the evening skies,


s: Felt his warm kiss and heard his murmur'd sighs;


s: Hung on his breast, caressing and carest,


s: Her husband smiled, and Ellinor was blest.


s: And when his injured country's rights to shield,


s: Blazed his red banner on the battle field,


s: There had she lingered in the shadows dim,


s: And sat till morning watch and thought of him;


s: And wept to think that she might not be there,


s: His toils, his dangers, and his wounds to share.


s: And when the foe had bowed beneath his brand,


s: And to his home he led his conquering band,


s: There she first caught his long-expected face,


s: And sprung to smile and weep in his embrace.


s: These scenes of bliss across her memory fled,


s: Like lights that haunt the chambers of the dead,


s: She saw the bower, and read the image there


s: Of joys that had been, and of woes that were;


s: She clench'd her hand in agony, and cast


s: A look of weeping sorrow--'twas the last!


s: She check'd the gush of feeling, turned her face,


s: No longer now from Leon's lips were heard


s: The sigh of bliss--the rapture breathing word;


s: The glance that sweetly thrills--the looks that melt;


s: No speaking gaze of fond attachment told,


s: But all was dull and gloomy, sad and cold.


s: Yet he was kind, or laboured to be kind,


s: And strove to hide the workings of his mind;


s: And cloak'd his heart, to soothe his wife's distress,


s: It was in vain--for ah! how light and frail


s: To love's keen eye is falsehood's gilded veil.


s: Sweet winning words may for a time beguile,


s: Professions lull, and oaths deceive a while;


s: But soon the heart, in vague suspicion tost,


s: Must feel a void unfilled, a something lost;


s: Something scarce heeded, and unprized till gone,


s: Felt while unseen, and, tho' unnoticed, known:


s: Too fine for actions and for words too warm;


s: That passing all the worthless forms of art,


s: Eludes the sense, and only woos the heart:


s: A hallowed spell, by fond affection wove,


s: The mute, but matchless eloquence of love!


s: Oh! there were times, when to my heart there came


s: All that the soul can feel, or fancy frame;


s: When sunny eyes and cordial hearts were there;


s: Where light came sparkling thro' the greenwood eaves,


s: Like mirthful eyes that laugh upon the leaves;


s: Where every bush and tree in all the scene,


s: In wind-kiss'd wavings shake their wings of green,


s: And all the objects round about dispense


s: Reviving freshness to the awakened sense;


s: The antic kid that frolics round the lea;


s: Or purple lance-flies circling round the place,


s: On their light shards of green, an airy race;


s: Or squirrel glancing from the nut-wood shade


s: An arch black eye, half pleas'd and half afraid;


s: Or bird quick darting through the foliage dim,


s: Or perched and twittering on the tendril slim;


s: With plumes that change and glisten in the sun,


s: Like rainbows fading into mist--and then,


s: On the bright cloud renewed and changed again;


s: Or soaring upward, while his full sweet throat


s: Pours clear and strong a pleasure-speaking note;


s: And sings in nature's language wild and free,


s: His song of praise for light and liberty.


s: Music and books led the glad hours along;


s: Worlds of the visioned minstrel, fancy-wove,


s: Tales of old time, of chivalry and love;


s: Or converse calm, or wit-shafts sprinkled round,


s: Like beams from gems, too light and fine to wound;


s: With spirits sparkling as the morning's sun,


s: Light as the dancing wave he smiles upon,


s: Like his own course--alas! too soon to know


s: Bright suns may set in storms, and gay hearts sink in wo.


s: Roar, raging torrent! and thou, mighty river,


s: Pour thy white foam on the valley below;


s: Frown, ye dark mountains! and shadow for ever


s: The deep rocky bed where the wild rapids flow.


s: The green sunny glade, and the smooth flowing fountain,


s: Brighten the home of the coward and slave;


s: The flood and the forest, the rock and the mountain,


s: Rear on their bosoms the free and the brave.


s: Nurslings of nature, I mark your bold bearing,


s: Pride in each aspect and strength in each form,


s: Hearts of warm impulse, and souls of high daring,


s: Born in the battle and rear'd in the storm.


s: The red levin flash and the thunder's dread rattle,


s: The rock-riven wave and the war trumpet's breath,


s: The din of the tempest, the yell of the battle,


s: Nerve your steeled bosoms to danger and death.


s: High on the brow of the Alps' snowy towers


s: The mountain Swiss measures his rock-breasted moors,


s: O'er his lone cottage the avalanche lowers,


s: Round its rude portal the spring-torrent pours.


s: Sweet is his sleep amid peril and danger,


s: Warm is his greeting to kindred and friends,


s: Open his hand to the poor and the stranger,


s: Lo! where the tempest the dark waters sunder


s: Slumbers the sailor boy, reckless and brave,


s: Warm'd by the lighting and lulled by the thunder,


s: Fann'd by the whirlwind and rock'd on the wave;


s: Wildly the winter wind howls round his pillow,


s: Cold on his bosom the spray showers fall;


s: Creaks the strained mast at the rush of the billow,


s: Peaceful he slumbers, regardless of all.


s: Mark how the cheek of the warrior flushes,


s: As the battle drum beats and the war torches glare;


s: Like a blast of the north to the onset he rushes,


s: And his wide-waving falchion gleams brightly in air.


s: Around him the death-shot of foemen are flying,


s: At his feet friends and comrades are yielding their breath;


s: He strikes to the groans of the wounded and dying,


s: But the war cry he strikes with is, 'conquest or death!'


s: Then pour thy broad wave like a flood from the heavens,


s: Each son that thou rearest, in the battle's wild shock,


s: When the death-speaking note of the trumpet is given,


s: Will charge like thy torrent or stand like thy rock.


s: Let his roof be the cloud and the rock be his pillow,


s: Let him stride the rough mountain, or toss on the foam,


s: He will strike fast and well on the field or the billow,


s: In triumph and glory, for God and his home!


s: Oh the tear is in my eye, and my heart it is breaking,


s: Thou hast fled from me, Connor, and left me forsaken;


s: Bright and warm was our morning, but soon has it faded,


s: For I gave thee a true heart, and thou hast betrayed it.


s: Thy footsteps I followed in darkness and danger,


s: From the home of my love to the land of the stranger;


s: Thou wert mine through the tempest, the blight, and the burning;


s: Could I think thou wouldst change when the morn was returning.


s: Yet peace to thy heart, though from mine it must sever,


s: May she love thee as I loved, alone and for ever;


s: I may weep for thy loss, but my faith is unshaken,


s: And the heart thou hast widowed will bless thee in breaking.


s: Look'd down, while grace attempered thought


s: "There none but bards a place may claim;


s: Yes! heaven protect thee, thou gem of the ocean;


s: Dear land of my sires, though distant thy shores;


s: Ere my heart cease to love thee, its latest emotion,


s: The last dying throbs of its pulse must be o'er.


s: And dark were the bosom, and cold and unfeeling,


s: That tamely could listen unmoved at the call,


s: When woman, the warm soul of melody stealing,


s: Laments for her country and sighs o'er its fall.


s: Sing on, gentle warbler, the tear-drop appearing


s: Shall fall for the woes of the queen of the sea;


s: And the spirit that breathes in the harp of green Erin,


s: Descending, shall hail thee her "Cushlamachree."


s: Though all too few the hours have roll'd


s: And like the breeze in fragrance rolled,


s: 'Tis the best charm in life's dull dream,


s: See through yon cloud that rolls in wrath,


s: The sun that looks through cloud and storm


s: Thy light, dear star! more brightly shines


s: Thy woods, that frown'd in sullen strength


s: And clear the ploughman's whistlings sound


s: Where war-whoop's pealed o'er mangled dead.


s: Still hast thou left the rocks, the floods,


s: With that smooth air, the stream, the sky,


s: With those long tearful willows o'er me,


s: When that eye of light shall in darkness fall,


s: And thy bosom be shrouded in death's cold pall,


s: When the bloom of that rich red lip shall fade,


s: And thy head on its pillow of dust be laid;


s: Are the holy vows I have breathed to you;


s: And in the blue heavens I'll seek my bride.


s: Then we'll tell, as we tread yon azure sphere,


s: Of the woes we have known while lingering here;


s: And our spirits shall joy that, their pilgrimage o'er,


s: They have met in the heavens to sever no more.


s: Spreads o'er the heavens the shadowy night


s: Skirting the smooth edge of a gentle river,


s: Whose waters seemed unwillingly to glide,


s: Like parting friends who linger while they sever;


s: Enforced to go, yet seeming still unready,


s: Backward they wind their way in many a wistful eddy.


s: Gray o'er my head the yellow-vested willow


s: Ruffled its hoary top in the fresh breezes,


s: Glancing in light, like spray on a green billow,


s: Or the fine frost-work which young winter freezes;


s: When first his power in infant pastime trying,


s: Congeals sad autumn's tears on the dead branches lying.


s: From rocks around hung the loose ivy dangling,


s: And in the clefts sumach of liveliest green,


s: Bright ising-stars the little beach was spangling,


s: The gold-cup sorrel from his gauzy screen


s: Shone like a fairy crown, enchased and beaded,


s: Left on some morn, when light flashed in their eyes unheeded.


s: The hum-bird shook his sun-touched wings around,


s: The bluefinch caroll'd in the still retreat;


s: The antic squirrel capered on the ground


s: Where lichens made a carpet for his feet:


s: Through the transparent waves, the ruddy minkle


s: Shot up in glimmering sparks his red fin's tiny twinkle.


s: There were dark cedars with loose mossy tresses,


s: White powdered dog-trees, and stiff hollies flaunting


s: Gaudy as rustics in their May-day dresses,


s: Blue pelloret from purple leaves upslanting


s: A modest gaze, like eyes of a young maiden


s: Shining beneath dropt lids the evening of her wedding.


s: The breeze fresh springing from the lips of morn,


s: Kissing the leaves, and sighing so to lose 'em,


s: The glad spring gushing from the rock's bare bosom:


s: Sweet sights, sweet sounds, all sights, all sounds excelling,


s: Oh! 'twas a ravishing spot formed for a poet's dwelling.


s: And did I leave thy loveliness, to stand


s: Again in the dull world of earthly blindness?


s: Pained with the pressure of unfriendly hands,


s: Sick of smooth looks, agued with icy kindness?


s: Left I for this thy shades, were none intrude,


s: To prison wandering thought and mar sweet solitude?


s: A face more pleasant than the face of men.


s: Thy waves are old companions, I shall see


s: A well-remembered form in each old tree,


s: And hear a voice long loved in thy wild minstrelsy.


s: 'Tis not the beam of her bright blue eye,


s: Nor the dark brown wreaths of her glossy hair,


s: Nor her changing cheek, so rich and rare.


s: Oh! these are the sweets of a fairy dream,


s: 'Tis the heart to love, and the soul to feel:


s: 'Tis the mind of light, and the spirit free,


s: Oh! these are the sweets that kindly stay


s: From youth's gay morning to age's night;


s: Love's torch still burns with a holy light.


s: Soon will the bloom of the fairest fade,


s: And love will droop in the cheerless shade,


s: Or if tears should fall on his wing of joy,


s: It will hasten the flight of the laughing boy.


s: Though wo may weep in life's mingled bowl,


s: Catch war and vengeance from the glance.


s: Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,


s: Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall;


s: Where breathes the foe but falls before us,


s: "What are the bugles blowin' for?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,


s: We've fought with many men acrost the seas,


s: Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool,


s: Wot makes the soldier's 'eart to penk, wot makes 'im to perspire?


s: If you've ever stole a pheasant-egg be'ind the keeper's back,


s: This 'appened in a battle to a batt'ry of the corps,


s: There was a row in Silver Street that's near to Dublin Quay,


s: When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East,


s: By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,


s: Troopin', troopin', troopin' to the sea,


s: To the legion of the lost ones, to the cohort of the damned,


s: We're marchin' on relief over Injia's sunny plains,


s: My name is O'Kelly, I've heard the Revelly,


s: Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told,


s: When spring-time flushes the desert grass,


s: The wreath of banquet overnight lay withered on the neck,


s: Seven men from all the world back to Docks again,


s: Love and Death once ceased their strife,


s: Read here:  This is the story of Evarra -- man --,


s: Winds of the World, give answer!  They are whimpering to and fro,


s: Help for a patriot distressed, a spotless spirit hurt,


s: Now this is the tale of the Council the German Kaiser decreed,


s: Now Tomlinson gave up the ghost in his house in Berkeley Square,


s: Kipling frequently used the swastika in this context.]


s: Fair is our lot -- O goodly is our heritage!


s: Our brows are bound with spindrift and the weed is on our knees,


s: The wrecks dissolve above us; their dust drops down from afar --,


s: One from the ends of the earth -- gifts at an open door --,


s: Truly ye come of The Blood; slower to bless than to ban,


s: Mine was the woman to me, darkling I found her,


s: Thus said The Lord in the Vault above the Cherubim,


s: Lord, Thou hast made this world below the shadow of a dream,


s: We've drunk to the Queen -- God bless her!


s: You couldn't pack a Broadwood half a mile,


s: The Liner she's a lady, an' she never looks nor 'eeds,


s: The fear was on the cattle, for the gale was on the sea,


s: Heh!  Walk her round.  Heave, ah heave her short again!


s: There's a Legion that never was 'listed,


s: There dwells a wife by the Northern Gate,


s: In the Neolithic Age savage warfare did I wage,


s: Once, on a glittering ice-field, ages and ages ago,


s: Full thirty foot she towered from waterline to rail,


s: Speakin' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all,


s: I'm 'ere in a ticky ulster an' a broken billycock 'at,


s: March!  The mud is cakin' good about our trousies,


s: As I was spitting into the Ditch aboard o' the _Crocodile_,


s: When the Waters were dried an' the Earth did appear,


s: It got beyond all orders an' it got beyond all 'ope,


s: The men that fought at Minden, they was rookies in their time,


s: We've got the cholerer in camp -- it's worse than forty fights,


s: There was no one like 'im, 'Orse or Foot,


s: The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone,


s: They take their mirth in the joy of the Earth --


s: And ofttimes cometh our wise Lord God, master of every trade,


s: And tells them tales of His daily toil, of Edens newly made;


s: And they rise to their feet as He passes by, gentlemen unafraid.


s: In simpleness and gentleness and honour and clean mirth.


s: So cup to lip in fellowship they gave him welcome high


s: And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you!


s: And treat you as a Christian ought to do;


s: "What are the bugles blowin' for?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: "To turn you out, to turn you out", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: "What makes you look so white, so white?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: "I'm dreadin' what I've got to watch", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: They've taken of his buttons off an' cut his stripes away,


s: An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.


s: "What makes the rear-rank breathe so 'ard?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: "What makes that front-rank man fall down?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: They are hangin' Danny Deever, they are marchin' of 'im round,


s: They 'ave 'alted Danny Deever by 'is coffin on the ground;


s: An' 'e'll swing in 'arf a minute for a sneakin' shootin' hound --


s: "'Is cot was right-'and cot to mine", said Files-on-Parade.


s: "'E's sleepin' out an' far to-night", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: "I've drunk 'is beer a score o' times", said Files-on-Parade.


s: "'E's drinkin' bitter beer alone", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: They are hangin' Danny Deever, you must mark 'im to 'is place,


s: For 'e shot a comrade sleepin' -- you must look 'im in the face;


s: Nine 'undred of 'is county an' the regiment's disgrace,


s: While they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.


s: "What's that so black agin' the sun?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: "It's Danny fightin' 'ard for life", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: "What's that that whimpers over'ead?" said Files-on-Parade.


s: "It's Danny's soul that's passin' now", the Colour-Sergeant said.


s: I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,


s: The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."


s: The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,


s: I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:


s: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";


s: O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.


s: I went into a theatre as sober as could be,


s: They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;


s: They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,


s: Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep


s: Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;


s: An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit


s: Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.


s: The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,


s: O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.


s: We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,


s: But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;


s: An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,


s: Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;


s: While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",


s: You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:


s: We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.


s: Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face


s: The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.


s: An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;


s: An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!


s: We've fought with many men acrost the seas,


s: An' some of 'em was brave an' some was not:


s: But the Fuzzy was the finest o' the lot.


s: We never got a ha'porth's change of 'im:


s: 'E squatted in the scrub an' 'ocked our 'orses,


s: An' 'e played the cat an' banjo with our forces.


s: So 'ere's _to_ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;


s: You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;


s: We gives you your certificate, an' if you want it signed


s: We'll come an' 'ave a romp with you whenever you're inclined.


s: We took our chanst among the Khyber 'ills,


s: An' a Zulu _impi_ dished us up in style:


s: Was pop to what the Fuzzy made us swaller;


s: We 'eld our bloomin' own, the papers say,


s: But man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oller.


s: Then 'ere's _to_ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid;


s: Our orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' did.


s: We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'ardly fair;


s: But for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square.


s: When 'e's 'oppin' in an' out among the bush


s: With 'is coffin-'eaded shield an' shovel-spear,


s: But give an' take's the gospel, an' we'll call the bargain fair,


s: For if you 'ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square!


s: 'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,


s: An', before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead;


s: 'E's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive,


s: An' 'e's generally shammin' when 'e's dead.


s: 'E's a daisy, 'e's a ducky, 'e's a lamb!


s: 'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damn


s: So 'ere's _to_ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;


s: You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;


s: "We're fresh from off the ship an' 'e's maybe give the slip,


s: The dead they cannot rise, an' you'd better dry your eyes,


s: "I seed 'im serve the Queen in a suit o' rifle-green,


s: "I seed 'im runnin' by when the shots begun to fly --


s: "I couldn't see the fight, for the smoke it lay so white --


s: "'E's lying on the dead with a bullet through 'is 'ead,


s: "The pit we dug'll 'ide 'im an' the twenty men beside 'im --


s: Do you bring no sign from my true love?"


s: "I bring a lock of 'air that 'e allus used to wear,


s: O then I know it's true I've lost my true love!"


s: "An' I tell you truth again -- when you've lost the feel o' pain


s: An' you'd best take 'im for your true love.


s: Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool,


s: I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,


s: With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets


s: that handles the dear little pets -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: o' course you will know what to do -- hoo! hoo!


s: Jest send in your Chief an' surrender --


s: You can go where you please, you can skid up the trees,


s: we guns that are built in two bits -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: By God, you must lather with us -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: The eagles is screamin' around us, the river's a-moanin' below,


s: We're clear o' the pine an' the oak-scrub,


s: the jinglety-jink o' the chains -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: There's a wheel on the Horns o' the Mornin',


s: to hold the old gun in 'er place -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: I climbs in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule.


s: Stand easy, you long-eared old darlin's!


s: Out drag-ropes!  With shrapnel!  Hold fast -- 'Tss! 'Tss!


s: You may hide in the caves, they'll be only your graves,


s: With a second-hand overcoat under my head,


s: O it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.


s: So it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.


s: I started o' canteen porter, I finished o' canteen beer,


s: I left my cap in a public-house, my boots in the public road,


s: Yes, it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.


s: An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;


s: An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.


s: You limpin' lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!


s: An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind,


s: Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.


s: Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl,


s: You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you been?


s: An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o' fear.


s: 'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear.


s: An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire",


s: When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire!


s: With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the green.


s: With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been.


s: Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din.


s: An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water-green:


s: 'Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen;


s: For Gawd's sake git the water, Gunga Din!"


s: An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.


s: "I 'ope you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din.


s: Where it's always double drill and no canteen;


s: An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!


s: You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!


s: Wot makes the soldier's 'eart to penk, wot makes 'im to perspire?


s: But it's everlastin' waitin' on a everlastin' road


s: For the commissariat camel an' 'is commissariat load.


s: O the oont*, O the oont, O the commissariat oont!


s: With 'is silly neck a-bobbin' like a basket full o' snakes;


s: We packs 'im like an idol, an' you ought to 'ear 'im grunt,


s: An' when we gets 'im loaded up 'is blessed girth-rope breaks.


s: * Camel: -- _oo_ is pronounced like _u_ in "bull", but


s: Wot makes the rear-guard swear so 'ard when night is drorin' in,


s: An' every native follower is shiverin' for 'is skin?


s: It ain't the chanst o' being rushed by Paythans from the 'ills,


s: It's the commissariat camel puttin' on 'is bloomin' frills!


s: O the oont, O the oont, O the hairy scary oont!


s: A-trippin' over tent-ropes when we've got the night alarm!


s: We socks 'im with a stretcher-pole an' 'eads 'im off in front,


s: An' when we've saved 'is bloomin' life 'e chaws our bloomin' arm.


s: The 'orse 'e knows above a bit, the bullock's but a fool,


s: The elephant's a gentleman, the battery-mule's a mule;


s: But the commissariat cam-u-el, when all is said an' done,


s: 'E's a devil an' a ostrich an' a orphan-child in one.


s: O the oont, O the oont, O the Gawd-forsaken oont!


s: The lumpy-'umpy 'ummin'-bird a-singin' where 'e lies,


s: 'E's blocked the whole division from the rear-guard to the front,


s: O the oont, O the oont, O the floppin', droppin' oont!


s: When 'is long legs give from under an' 'is meltin' eye is dim,


s: The tribes is up be'ind us, and the tribes is out in front --


s: It ain't no jam for Tommy, but it's kites an' crows for 'im.


s: So when the cruel march is done, an' when the roads is blind,


s: An' when we sees the camp in front an' 'ears the shots be'ind,


s: Ho! then we strips 'is saddle off, and all 'is woes is past:


s: 'E thinks on us that used 'im so, and gets revenge at last.


s: O the oont, O the oont, O the floatin', bloatin' oont!


s: The late lamented camel in the water-cut 'e lies;


s: We keeps a mile be'ind 'im an' we keeps a mile in front,


s: But 'e gets into the drinkin'-casks, and then o' course we dies.


s: If you've ever stole a pheasant-egg be'ind the keeper's back,


s: If you've ever snigged the washin' from the line,


s: If you've ever crammed a gander in your bloomin' 'aversack,


s: You will understand this little song o' mine.


s: But the service rules are 'ard, an' from such we are debarred,


s: For the same with English morals does not suit.


s: W'y, they call a man a robber if 'e stuffs 'is marchin' clobber


s: (_Chorus_)  Loo! loo!  Lulu! lulu!  Loo! loo!  Loot! loot! loot!


s: That's the thing to make the boys git up an' shoot!


s: Clap 'em forward with a Loo! loo! Lulu! Loot!


s: An' may thank your stars an' gaiters if you didn't feel 'is knife


s: Why lootin' should be entered as a crime;


s: So if my song you'll 'ear, I will learn you plain an' clear


s: 'Ow to pay yourself for fightin' overtime.


s: Now remember when you're 'acking round a gilded Burma god


s: That 'is eyes is very often precious stones;


s: 'E's like to show you everything 'e owns.


s: When 'e won't prodooce no more, pour some water on the floor


s: Where you 'ear it answer 'ollow to the boot


s: (_Chorus_)  Loo! loo!  Lulu!   Loot! loot! loot!


s: For a single man gets bottled on them twisty-wisty stairs,


s: An' a woman comes and clobs 'im from be'ind.


s: When you've turned 'em inside out, an' it seems beyond a doubt


s: As if there weren't enough to dust a flute


s: Before you sling your 'ook, at the 'ousetops take a look,


s: For it's underneath the tiles they 'ide the loot.


s: You can mostly square a Sergint an' a Quartermaster too,


s: An' now I'll bid good-bye, for I'm gettin' rather dry,


s: So 'ere's good-luck to those that wears the Widow's clo'es,


s: An' the Devil send 'em all they want o' loot!


s: In the tunic an' the mess-tin an' the boot!


s: This 'appened in a battle to a batt'ry of the corps


s: Which is first among the women an' amazin' first in war;


s: An' what the bloomin' battle was I don't remember now,


s: But Two's off-lead 'e answered to the name o' _Snarleyow_.


s: But down in the lead with the wheel at the flog


s: Turns the bold Bombardier to a little whipped dog!


s: They was movin' into action, they was needed very sore,


s: To learn a little schoolin' to a native army corps,


s: They cut 'im loose an' left 'im -- 'e was almost tore in two --


s: But he tried to follow after as a well-trained 'orse should do;


s: 'E went an' fouled the limber, an' the Driver's Brother squeals:


s: The Driver 'umped 'is shoulder, for the wheels was goin' round,


s: 'E 'adn't 'ardly spoke the word, before a droppin' shell


s: A little right the batt'ry an' between the sections fell;


s: An' when the smoke 'ad cleared away, before the limber wheels,


s: There lay the Driver's Brother with 'is 'ead between 'is 'eels.


s: Then sez the Driver's Brother, an' 'is words was very plain,


s: "For Gawd's own sake get over me, an' put me out o' pain."


s: The Driver 'e give nothin' 'cept a little coughin' grunt,


s: But 'e swung 'is 'orses 'andsome when it came to "Action Front!"


s: An' if one wheel was juicy, you may lay your Monday head


s: The moril of this story, it is plainly to be seen:


s: You 'avn't got no families when servin' of the Queen --


s: You 'avn't got no brothers, fathers, sisters, wives, or sons --


s: If you want to win your battles take an' work your bloomin' guns!


s: But down in the lead with the wheel at the flog


s: Turns the bold Bombardier to a little whipped dog!


s: She 'as ships on the foam -- she 'as millions at 'ome,


s: There's 'er mark on the medical stores --


s: An' 'er troopers you'll find with a fair wind be'ind


s: The men an' the 'orses what makes up the forces


s: We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,


s: An' we've salted it down with our bones.


s: (Poor beggars! -- it's blue with our bones!)


s: For the Kings must come down an' the Emperors frown


s: (Poor beggars! -- we're sent to say "Stop"!)


s: To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an' the file,


s: (Poor beggars! -- it's always they guns!)


s: For 'er sentries we stand by the sea an' the land


s: (Poor beggars! -- an' don't we get blown!)


s: An' flop round the earth till you're dead;


s: But you won't get away from the tune that they play


s: 'Ere's all they desire, an' if they require


s: (Poor beggars! -- they'll never see 'ome!)


s: There was a row in Silver Street that's near to Dublin Quay,


s: Between an Irish regiment an' English cavalree;


s: It started at Revelly an' it lasted on till dark:


s: The first man dropped at Harrison's, the last forninst the Park.


s: For it was: -- "Belts, belts, belts, an' that's one for you!"


s: An' it was "Belts, belts, belts, an' that's done for you!"


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- the regiments was out,


s: They called us "Delhi Rebels", an' we answered "Threes about!"


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- an' I was in it too;


s: We passed the time o' day, an' then the belts went whirraru!


s: I misremember what occurred, but subsequint the storm


s: A _Freeman's Journal Supplemint_ was all my uniform.


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- they sent the Polis there,


s: The English were too drunk to know, the Irish didn't care;


s: But when they grew impertinint we simultaneous rose,


s: Till half o' them was Liffey mud an' half was tatthered clo'es.


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- it might ha' raged till now,


s: But some one drew his side-arm clear, an' nobody knew how;


s: 'Twas Hogan took the point an' dropped; we saw the red blood run:


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- but that put down the shine,


s: Wid each man whisperin' to his next:  "'Twas never work o' mine!"


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- it isn't over yet,


s: For half of us are under guard wid punishments to get;


s: 'Tis all a merricle to me as in the Clink I lie:


s: There was a row in Silver Street -- begod, I wonder why!


s: But it was: -- "Belts, belts, belts, an' that's one for you!"


s: An' it was "Belts, belts, belts, an' that's done for you!"


s: When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East


s: 'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,


s: An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased


s: Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,


s: You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,


s: An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:


s: First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,


s: For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --


s: Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --


s: An' it's bad for the young British soldier.


s: When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --


s: Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,


s: For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,


s: An' it crumples the young British soldier.


s: Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .


s: But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:


s: You _must_ wear your 'elmet for all that is said:


s: If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,


s: An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.


s: If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,


s: Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;


s: Be handy and civil, and then you will find


s: That it's beer for the young British soldier.


s: Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --


s: A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,


s: For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,


s: 'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .


s: If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath


s: To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --


s: Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er:  that's Hell for them both,


s: An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.


s: When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,


s: Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,


s: Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck


s: Front, front, front like a soldier . . .


s: When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,


s: She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,


s: An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.


s: Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .


s: When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,


s: Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,


s: Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .


s: If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,


s: So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,


s: When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,


s: And the women come out to cut up what remains,


s: Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains


s: By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,


s: There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;


s: For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:


s: Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?


s: An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!


s: 'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green,


s: An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's foot:


s: Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed 'er where she stud!


s: With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek agin' my cheek


s: We useter watch the steamers an' the _hathis_ pilin' teak.


s: Where the silence 'ung that 'eavy you was 'arf afraid to speak!


s: But that's all shove be'ind me -- long ago an' fur away,


s: An' there ain't no 'busses runnin' from the Bank to Mandalay;


s: An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:


s: An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells;


s: I am sick o' wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones,


s: An' the blasted Henglish drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;


s: Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,


s: An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand?


s: I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!


s: With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!


s: An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!


s: Troopin', troopin', troopin' to the sea:


s: 'Ere's September come again -- the six-year men are free.


s: O leave the dead be'ind us, for they cannot come away


s: To where the ship's a-coalin' up that takes us 'ome to-day.


s: For I'll marry you yit on a fourp'ny bit


s: The _Malabar_'s in 'arbour with the _Jumner_ at 'er tail,


s: An' the time-expired's waitin' of 'is orders for to sail.


s: Ho! the weary waitin' when on Khyber 'ills we lay,


s: But the time-expired's waitin' of 'is orders 'ome to-day.


s: They'll turn us out at Portsmouth wharf in cold an' wet an' rain,


s: They'll kill us of pneumonia -- for that's their little way --


s: But damn the chills and fever, men, we're goin' 'ome to-day!


s: Troopin', troopin', winter's round again!


s: See the new draf's pourin' in for the old campaign;


s: Ho, you poor recruities, but you've got to earn your pay --


s: What's the last from Lunnon, lads?  We're goin' there to-day.


s: Troopin', troopin', give another cheer --


s: 'Ere's to English women an' a quart of English beer.


s: The Colonel an' the regiment an' all who've got to stay,


s: Gawd's mercy strike 'em gentle -- Whoop! we're goin' 'ome to-day.


s: And you can't refuse when you get the card,


s: A bit o' beef that were three year stored,


s: And a fowl we killed with a sergeant's sword,


s: We carries 'em with us wherever we walks,


s: And some was sliced and some was halved,


s: And some was crimped and some was carved,


s: And some was gutted and some was starved,


s: They couldn't do more and they wouldn't do less,


s: They ate their whack and they drank their fill,


s: And I think the rations has made them ill,


s: On the broad o' my back at the end o' the day,


s: As I lay in the bight of a canvas trough,


s: A court-house stands where the reg'ment goed.


s: And the river's clean where the raw blood flowed


s: Gawd 'elp 'em if they blunder, for their boots'll pull 'em under,


s: There's the river low an' fallin', but it ain't no use o' callin'


s: To the legion of the lost ones, to the cohort of the damned,


s: To my brethren in their sorrow overseas,


s: Sings a gentleman of England cleanly bred, machinely crammed,


s: And a trooper of the Empress, if you please.


s: Yea, a trooper of the forces who has run his own six horses,


s: And faith he went the pace and went it blind,


s: And the world was more than kin while he held the ready tin,


s: But to-day the Sergeant's something less than kind.


s: We're poor little lambs who've lost our way,


s: We're little black sheep who've gone astray,


s: To dance with blowzy housemaids at the regimental hops


s: And thrash the cad who says you waltz too well.


s: Yes, it makes you cock-a-hoop to be "Rider" to your troop,


s: And branded with a blasted worsted spur,


s: When you envy, O how keenly, one poor Tommy being cleanly


s: Who blacks your boots and sometimes calls you "Sir".


s: If the home we never write to, and the oaths we never keep,


s: And all we know most distant and most dear,


s: Across the snoring barrack-room return to break our sleep,


s: Can you blame us if we soak ourselves in beer?


s: Every secret, self-revealing on the aching white-washed ceiling,


s: Do you wonder that we drug ourselves from pain?


s: We have done with Hope and Honour, we are lost to Love and Truth,


s: And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth.


s: God help us, for we knew the worst too young!


s: And the Curse of Reuben holds us till an alien turf enfolds us


s: And we die, and none can tell Them where we died.


s: We're poor little lambs who've lost our way,


s: We're little black sheep who've gone astray,


s: We're marchin' on relief over Injia's sunny plains,


s: A little front o' Christmas-time an' just be'ind the Rains;


s: Ho! get away you bullock-man, you've 'eard the bugle blowed,


s: There's a regiment a-comin' down the Grand Trunk Road;


s: An' every bloomin' campin'-ground exactly like the last;


s: "_Kiko kissywarsti_ don't you _hamsher argy jow?_"*


s: Oh, there's them Injian temples to admire when you see,


s: There's the peacock round the corner an' the monkey up the tree,


s: An' there's that rummy silver grass a-wavin' in the wind,


s: An' the old Grand Trunk a-trailin' like a rifle-sling be'ind.


s: At half-past five's Revelly, an' our tents they down must come,


s: Like a lot of button mushrooms when you pick 'em up at 'ome.


s: But it's over in a minute, an' at six the column starts,


s: While the women and the kiddies sit an' shiver in the carts.


s: Oh, then it's open order, an' we lights our pipes an' sings,


s: An' we talks about our rations an' a lot of other things,


s: * Language.  Thomas's first and firmest conviction is that


s: he is a profound Orientalist and a fluent speaker of Hindustani.


s: As a matter of fact, he depends largely on the sign-language.


s: It's none so bad o' Sunday, when you're lyin' at your ease,


s: To watch the kites a-wheelin' round them feather-'eaded trees,


s: So 'ark an' 'eed, you rookies, which is always grumblin' sore,


s: There's worser things than marchin' from Umballa to Cawnpore;


s: An' if your 'eels are blistered an' they feels to 'urt like 'ell,


s: We're marchin' on relief over Injia's coral strand,


s: Eight 'undred fightin' Englishmen, the Colonel, and the Band;


s: Ho! get away you bullock-man, you've 'eard the bugle blowed,


s: There's a regiment a-comin' down the Grand Trunk Road;


s: An' every bloomin' campin'-ground exactly like the last;


s: "_Kiko kissywarsti_ don't you _hamsher argy jow?_"


s: My name is O'Kelly, I've heard the Revelly


s: From Birr to Bareilly, from Leeds to Lahore,


s: And fifty-five more all endin' in "pore".


s: Black Death and his quickness, the depth and the thickness,


s: Of sorrow and sickness I've known on my way,


s: Went slap for the Ghazi, my sword at my side,


s: That didn't care whether we lived or we died.


s: But it's no use despairin', my wife must go charin'


s: An' me commissairin' the pay-bills to better,


s: By the Grand Metropold, won't you give me a letter?


s: Late Troop-Sergeant-Major an' -- runs with a letter!


s: But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,


s: tho' they come from the ends of the earth!


s: Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border-side,


s: And he has lifted the Colonel's mare that is the Colonel's pride:


s: Then up and spoke Mahommed Khan, the son of the Ressaldar:


s: But he must go by Fort Bukloh to his own place to fare,


s: So if ye gallop to Fort Bukloh as fast as a bird can fly,


s: The Colonel's son has taken a horse, and a raw rough dun was he,


s: With the mouth of a bell and the heart of Hell


s: The little jackals that flee so fast were feasting all in a row:


s: If I had bowed my head on my breast, as I have held it high,


s: Kamal has gripped him by the hand and set him upon his feet.


s: "Ye have taken the one from a foe," said he;


s: Till Death or I cut loose the tie, at camp and board and bed,


s: Thy life is his -- thy fate it is to guard him with thy head.


s: Last night ye had struck at a Border thief --


s: Not many years ago a King died in one of the Rajpoot States.


s: His wives, disregarding the orders of the English against Suttee,


s: passed through the line of guards and reached the pyre.  There,


s: her courage failing, she prayed her cousin, a baron of the court,


s: And there was sobbing behind the screen,


s: He passed at dawn -- the death-fire leaped


s: "See, now, that we die as our mothers died


s: Had reached the turn to the open street,


s: The bars shot down, the guard-drum beat --


s: A face looked down in the gathering day,


s: When the house is rotten, the rats must fly,


s: "For I ruled the King as ne'er did Queen, --


s: In scourge and torture!"  She leaped below,


s: They knew that the King had spent his soul


s: That he prayed to a flat-nosed Lucknow god,


s: And kissed the ground where her feet had trod,


s: Where the gray apes swing, and the peacocks preen


s: And the wild boar couch in the house of the Queen


s: And called on the King -- but the great King slept,


s: Small thought had he to mark the strife --


s: When thrice she leaped from the leaping flame,


s: And thrice she beat her breast for shame,


s: Who had stood by the King in sport and fray,


s: Will the white ash rise from the blistered brand?


s: Then she:  "By the faith of my tarnished soul,


s: With base-born blood of a trade abhorred," --


s: He drew and struck:  the straight blade drank


s: "I had looked for the Queen to face the flame,


s: But the harlot dies for the Rajpoot dame --


s: That whistled and fluttered from head to heel,


s: Leaped up anew, for they found their meal


s: _Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told.


s: His mercy fills the Khyber hills -- his grace is manifold;


s: He has taken toll of the North and the South --


s: And they tell the tale of his charity from Balkh to Kandahar_.


s: Before the old Peshawur Gate, where Kurd and Kaffir meet,


s: The Governor of Kabul dealt the Justice of the Street,


s: And that was strait as running noose and swift as plunging knife,


s: There was a hound of Hindustan had struck a Euzufzai,


s: Wherefore they spat upon his face and led him out to die.


s: And he was honoured of the King -- the which is salt to Death;


s: And blood of old Durani Lords ran fire in his veins;


s: And 'twas to tame an Afghan pride nor Hell nor Heaven could bind,


s: "Strike!" said the King.  "King's blood art thou --


s: My path is mine -- see thou to thine -- to-night upon thy bed


s: Think who there be in Kabul now that clamour for thy head."


s: That night when all the gates were shut to City and to throne,


s: Within a little garden-house the King lay down alone.


s: Before the sinking of the moon, which is the Night of Night,


s: Yar Khan came softly to the King to make his honour white.


s: The children of the town had mocked beneath his horse's hoofs,


s: And that thou bearest in thy hand is all too sharp to write.


s: But three days hence, if God be good, and if thy strength remain,


s: For I am merciful to all, and most of all to thee.


s: My butcher of the shambles, rest -- no knife hast thou for me!"


s: But the Ghilzai knows, ere the melting snows,


s: When the red-coats crawl to the sungar wall,


s: Ye have heard the song -- How long?  How long?


s: They stoned him in the rubbish-field when dawn was in the sky,


s: According to the written word, "See that he do not die."


s: It was upon the second night, the night of Ramazan,


s: The watcher leaning earthward heard the message of Yar Khan.


s: "Bid him endure until the day," a lagging answer came;


s: "The night is short, and he can pray and learn to bless my name."


s: Before the dawn three times he spoke, and on the day once more:


s: "Creature of God, deliver me, and bless the King therefor!"


s: They shot him at the morning prayer, to ease him of his pain,


s: Which thing the singers made a song for all the world to sing,


s: So that the Outer Seas may know the mercy of the King.


s: _Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told,


s: He has opened his mouth to the North and the South,


s: When spring-time flushes the desert grass,


s: Our kafilas wind through the Khyber Pass.


s: Light are the purses but heavy the bales,


s: As the snowbound trade of the North comes down


s: In a turquoise twilight, crisp and chill,


s: A kafila camped at the foot of the hill.


s: Then blue smoke-haze of the cooking rose,


s: Strained at their ropes as the feed was piled;


s: And the tribesmen bellowed to hasten the food;


s: And the camp-fires twinkled by Fort Jumrood;


s: And there fled on the wings of the gathering dusk


s: A savour of camels and carpets and musk,


s: To tell us the trade of the Khyber woke.


s: The lid of the flesh-pot chattered high,


s: The knives were whetted and -- then came I


s: Patching his bridles and counting his gear,


s: "Better is speech when the belly is fed."