Tecumseh - Act 4, Scene 2
SCENE SECOND. — Y ORK, THE Capital OF U PPER C ANADA . The SPACE IN FRONT OF OLD G OVERNMENT H OUSE .
Enter two U. E. L OYALISTS , separately .
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . Well met, my friend! A stirrer like myself.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Yes, affairs make me so. Such stirring times
Since Brock returned and opened Parliament!
Read you his speech?
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . That from the Throne?
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Ay, that!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . You need not ask, since 'tis on every tongue,
Unstaled by repetition. I affirm
Words never showered upon more fruitful soil
To nourish valour's growth.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . That final phrase —
Oh, it struck home: a sentence to be framed
And hung in every honourable heart
For daily meditation. " We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and despatch in our councils, and by vigour in our operations, we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by free men, enthusiastically devoted to the cause of their king and constitution, can never be conquered . "
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . That reaches far; a text to fortify
Imperial doctrine and Canadian rights.
Sedition skulks, and feels its blood a-cold,
Since first it fell upon the public ear.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . There is a magic in this soldier's tongue.
Oh, language is a common instrument;
But when a master touches it — what sounds!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . What sounds indeed! But Brock can use his sword
Still better than his tongue. Our state affairs,
Conned and digested by his eager mind,
Draw into form, and even now his voice
Cries, Forward! To the Front!
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Look — here he comes!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . There's matter in the wind; let's draw-a-near.
Enter G ENERAL B ROCK , accompanied by M ACDONELL , N ICHOL , R OBINSON and other Canadian Officers and friends conversing .
B ROCK . 'Tis true our Province faces heavy odds:
Of regulars but fifteen hundred men
To guard a frontier of a thousand miles;
Of volunteers what aidance we can draw
From seventy thousand widely scattered souls.
A meagre showing 'gainst the enemy's
If numbers be the test. But odds lie not
In numbers only, but in spirit too —
Witness the might of England's little isle!
And what made England great will keep her so —
The free soul and the valour of her sons;
And what exalts her will sustain you now
If you contain her courage and her faith.
So not the odds so much are to be feared
As private disaffection, treachery —
Those openers of the door to enemies —
And the poor crouching spirit that gives way
Ere it is forced to yield.
R OBINSON . No fear of that!
B ROCK . I trust there is not: yet I speak of it
As what is to be feared more than the odds.
For like to forests are communities —
Fair at a distance, entering you find
The rubbish and the underbrush of states.
'Tis ever the mean soul that counts the odds,
And, where you find this spirit, pluck it up —
'Tis full of mischief.
M ACDONELL . It is almost dead.
England's vast war, our weakness, and the eagle
Whetting his beak at Sandwich, with one claw
Already in our side, put thought to steep
In cold conjecture for a time, and gave
A text to alien tongues. But, since you came,
Depression turns to smiling, and men see
That dangers well opposed may be subdued
Which, shunned, would overwhelm us.
B ROCK . Hold to this!
For since the storm has struck us we must face it.
What is our present count of volunteers?
N ICHOL . More than you called for have assembled, sir —
The flower of York and Lincoln.
B ROCK . Some will go
To guard our frontier at Niagara,
Which must be strengthened even at the cost
Of York itself. The rest to the Detroit,
Where, with Tecumseh's force, our regulars,
And Kent and Essex loyal volunteers,
We'll give this Hull a taste of steel so cold
His teeth will chatter at it, and his scheme
Of easy conquest vanish into air.
Enter a Company of Militia with their Officers, unarmed. They salute, march across the stage, and make their exit.
What men are those? Their faces are familiar.
R OBINSON . Some farmers whom you furloughed at Fort George,
To tend their fields, which still they leave half reaped
To meet invasion.
B ROCK . I remember it!
The jarring needs of harvest-time and war,
'Twixt whose necessities grave hazards lay.
R OBINSON . They only thought to save their children's bread,
And then return to battle with lighThearts.
For, though their hard necessities o'erpoised
Their duty for the moment, they are men
Who draw their pith from loyal roots, their sires,
Dug up by revolution, and cast out
To hovel in the bitter wilderness,
And wring, with many a tussle, from the wolf
Those very fields which cry for harvesters.
B ROCK . Oh, I observed them closely at Fort George —
Red-hot for action in their summer-sleeves,
And others drilling in their naked feet —
Our poor equipment (which disgraced us there)
Too scanty to go round. See they get arms,
An ample outfit and good quarters too.
N ICHOL . They shall be well provided for in all.
Enter C OLONELS B ABY and E LLIOTT .
B ROCK . Good morning both; what news from home, Baby?
B ABY . None, none, your Exc'llency — whereat we fear
This Hull is in our rear at Amherstburg.
B ROCK . Not yet; what I unsealed last night reports
Tecumseh to have foiled the enemy
In two encounters at the Canard bridge.
A noble fellow, as I hear, humane,
Lofty and bold, and rooted in our cause.
B ABY . I know him well; a chief of matchless force.
If Mackinaw should fall — that triple key
To inland seas and teeming wilderness —
The bravest in the West will flock to him.
B ROCK . 'Twere well he had an inkling of affairs.
My letter says he chafes at my delay —
Not mine, but thine, thou dull and fatuous House —
Which, in a period that whips delay,
When men should spur themselves and flash in action,
Letst idly leak the unpurchasable hours
From our scant measure of most precious time!
B ABY . 'Tis true, your Exc'llency, some cankered minds
Have been a daily hindrance in our House.
No measure so essential, bill so fair.
But they would foul it by some cunning clause,
Wrenching the needed statute from its aim
By sly injection of their false opinion.
But this you cannot charge to us whose hearts
Are faithful to our trust; nor yet delay;
For, Exc'llency, you hurry on so fast
That other men wheeze after, out of breath,
And haste itself, disparaged, lags behind.
B ROCK . Friends, pardon me, you stand not in reproof.
But haste, the evil of the age in peace,
Is war's auxiliary, confederate
With Time himself in urgent great affairs.
So must we match it with the flying hours!
I shall prorogue this tardy Parliament,
And promptly head our forces for Detroit.
Meanwhile, I wish you, in advance of us,
To speed unto your homes. Spread everywhere
Throughout the West broad tidings of our coming,
Which, by the counter currents of reaction,
Will tell against our foes and for our friends.
As for the rest, such loyal men as you
Need not our counsel; so, good journey both!
B ABY . We shall not spare our transport or ourselves.
Enter a travel-stained M ESSENGER .
E LLIOTT . Good-bye.
B ABY . Tarry a moment, Elliott!
Here comes a messenger — let's have his news.
M ESSENGER . It is his Excellency whom I seek.
I come, sir, with despatches from the West.
B ROCK . Tidings, I trust, to strengthen all our hopes.
M ESSENGER . News of grave interest, this not the worst.
B ROCK . No, by my soul, for Mackinaw is ours!
That vaunted fort, whose gallant capture frees
Our red allies. This is important news!
What of Detroit?
M ESSENGER . Things vary little there.
Hull's soldiers scour our helpless settlements,
Our aliens join them, but the loyal mass —
Sullen, yet overawed — longs for relief.
B ROCK . I hope to better this anon. You, sirs,
Come with me; here is matter to despatch
At once to Montreal. Farewell, my friends.
B ABY . We feel now what will follow this, farewell!
B ROCK . Now, gentlemen, prepare against our needs,
That no neglect may check us at the start,
Or mar our swift advance. And, for our cause,
As we believe it just in sight of God,
So should it triumph in the sight of man,
Whose generous temper, at the first, assigns
Right to the weaker side, yet coldly draws
Damning conclusions from its failure. Now
Betake you to your tasks with double zeal;
And, meanwhile, let our joyful tidings spread!
Enter two U. E. L OYALISTS , separately .
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . Well met, my friend! A stirrer like myself.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Yes, affairs make me so. Such stirring times
Since Brock returned and opened Parliament!
Read you his speech?
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . That from the Throne?
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Ay, that!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . You need not ask, since 'tis on every tongue,
Unstaled by repetition. I affirm
Words never showered upon more fruitful soil
To nourish valour's growth.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . That final phrase —
Oh, it struck home: a sentence to be framed
And hung in every honourable heart
For daily meditation. " We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and despatch in our councils, and by vigour in our operations, we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by free men, enthusiastically devoted to the cause of their king and constitution, can never be conquered . "
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . That reaches far; a text to fortify
Imperial doctrine and Canadian rights.
Sedition skulks, and feels its blood a-cold,
Since first it fell upon the public ear.
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . There is a magic in this soldier's tongue.
Oh, language is a common instrument;
But when a master touches it — what sounds!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . What sounds indeed! But Brock can use his sword
Still better than his tongue. Our state affairs,
Conned and digested by his eager mind,
Draw into form, and even now his voice
Cries, Forward! To the Front!
2 ND U. E. L OYALIST . Look — here he comes!
1 ST U. E. L OYALIST . There's matter in the wind; let's draw-a-near.
Enter G ENERAL B ROCK , accompanied by M ACDONELL , N ICHOL , R OBINSON and other Canadian Officers and friends conversing .
B ROCK . 'Tis true our Province faces heavy odds:
Of regulars but fifteen hundred men
To guard a frontier of a thousand miles;
Of volunteers what aidance we can draw
From seventy thousand widely scattered souls.
A meagre showing 'gainst the enemy's
If numbers be the test. But odds lie not
In numbers only, but in spirit too —
Witness the might of England's little isle!
And what made England great will keep her so —
The free soul and the valour of her sons;
And what exalts her will sustain you now
If you contain her courage and her faith.
So not the odds so much are to be feared
As private disaffection, treachery —
Those openers of the door to enemies —
And the poor crouching spirit that gives way
Ere it is forced to yield.
R OBINSON . No fear of that!
B ROCK . I trust there is not: yet I speak of it
As what is to be feared more than the odds.
For like to forests are communities —
Fair at a distance, entering you find
The rubbish and the underbrush of states.
'Tis ever the mean soul that counts the odds,
And, where you find this spirit, pluck it up —
'Tis full of mischief.
M ACDONELL . It is almost dead.
England's vast war, our weakness, and the eagle
Whetting his beak at Sandwich, with one claw
Already in our side, put thought to steep
In cold conjecture for a time, and gave
A text to alien tongues. But, since you came,
Depression turns to smiling, and men see
That dangers well opposed may be subdued
Which, shunned, would overwhelm us.
B ROCK . Hold to this!
For since the storm has struck us we must face it.
What is our present count of volunteers?
N ICHOL . More than you called for have assembled, sir —
The flower of York and Lincoln.
B ROCK . Some will go
To guard our frontier at Niagara,
Which must be strengthened even at the cost
Of York itself. The rest to the Detroit,
Where, with Tecumseh's force, our regulars,
And Kent and Essex loyal volunteers,
We'll give this Hull a taste of steel so cold
His teeth will chatter at it, and his scheme
Of easy conquest vanish into air.
Enter a Company of Militia with their Officers, unarmed. They salute, march across the stage, and make their exit.
What men are those? Their faces are familiar.
R OBINSON . Some farmers whom you furloughed at Fort George,
To tend their fields, which still they leave half reaped
To meet invasion.
B ROCK . I remember it!
The jarring needs of harvest-time and war,
'Twixt whose necessities grave hazards lay.
R OBINSON . They only thought to save their children's bread,
And then return to battle with lighThearts.
For, though their hard necessities o'erpoised
Their duty for the moment, they are men
Who draw their pith from loyal roots, their sires,
Dug up by revolution, and cast out
To hovel in the bitter wilderness,
And wring, with many a tussle, from the wolf
Those very fields which cry for harvesters.
B ROCK . Oh, I observed them closely at Fort George —
Red-hot for action in their summer-sleeves,
And others drilling in their naked feet —
Our poor equipment (which disgraced us there)
Too scanty to go round. See they get arms,
An ample outfit and good quarters too.
N ICHOL . They shall be well provided for in all.
Enter C OLONELS B ABY and E LLIOTT .
B ROCK . Good morning both; what news from home, Baby?
B ABY . None, none, your Exc'llency — whereat we fear
This Hull is in our rear at Amherstburg.
B ROCK . Not yet; what I unsealed last night reports
Tecumseh to have foiled the enemy
In two encounters at the Canard bridge.
A noble fellow, as I hear, humane,
Lofty and bold, and rooted in our cause.
B ABY . I know him well; a chief of matchless force.
If Mackinaw should fall — that triple key
To inland seas and teeming wilderness —
The bravest in the West will flock to him.
B ROCK . 'Twere well he had an inkling of affairs.
My letter says he chafes at my delay —
Not mine, but thine, thou dull and fatuous House —
Which, in a period that whips delay,
When men should spur themselves and flash in action,
Letst idly leak the unpurchasable hours
From our scant measure of most precious time!
B ABY . 'Tis true, your Exc'llency, some cankered minds
Have been a daily hindrance in our House.
No measure so essential, bill so fair.
But they would foul it by some cunning clause,
Wrenching the needed statute from its aim
By sly injection of their false opinion.
But this you cannot charge to us whose hearts
Are faithful to our trust; nor yet delay;
For, Exc'llency, you hurry on so fast
That other men wheeze after, out of breath,
And haste itself, disparaged, lags behind.
B ROCK . Friends, pardon me, you stand not in reproof.
But haste, the evil of the age in peace,
Is war's auxiliary, confederate
With Time himself in urgent great affairs.
So must we match it with the flying hours!
I shall prorogue this tardy Parliament,
And promptly head our forces for Detroit.
Meanwhile, I wish you, in advance of us,
To speed unto your homes. Spread everywhere
Throughout the West broad tidings of our coming,
Which, by the counter currents of reaction,
Will tell against our foes and for our friends.
As for the rest, such loyal men as you
Need not our counsel; so, good journey both!
B ABY . We shall not spare our transport or ourselves.
Enter a travel-stained M ESSENGER .
E LLIOTT . Good-bye.
B ABY . Tarry a moment, Elliott!
Here comes a messenger — let's have his news.
M ESSENGER . It is his Excellency whom I seek.
I come, sir, with despatches from the West.
B ROCK . Tidings, I trust, to strengthen all our hopes.
M ESSENGER . News of grave interest, this not the worst.
B ROCK . No, by my soul, for Mackinaw is ours!
That vaunted fort, whose gallant capture frees
Our red allies. This is important news!
What of Detroit?
M ESSENGER . Things vary little there.
Hull's soldiers scour our helpless settlements,
Our aliens join them, but the loyal mass —
Sullen, yet overawed — longs for relief.
B ROCK . I hope to better this anon. You, sirs,
Come with me; here is matter to despatch
At once to Montreal. Farewell, my friends.
B ABY . We feel now what will follow this, farewell!
B ROCK . Now, gentlemen, prepare against our needs,
That no neglect may check us at the start,
Or mar our swift advance. And, for our cause,
As we believe it just in sight of God,
So should it triumph in the sight of man,
Whose generous temper, at the first, assigns
Right to the weaker side, yet coldly draws
Damning conclusions from its failure. Now
Betake you to your tasks with double zeal;
And, meanwhile, let our joyful tidings spread!
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