Classic Poem

A FLASH of light across the night,
An eager face, an eye afire!
O lad so true, you may yet rue
The courage of your deep desire!

“Nay, tempt me not; the way is plain—
'Tis but the coward checks his rein;
For there they lie
And there they cry
For whose dear sake 'twere joy to die!”

He bends unto his saddle bow,
The steeds they follow two and two;
Their flanks are wet with foam and sweat,
Their riders' locks are damp with dew.

“O comrades, haste! the way is long,
The dirge it drowns the battle song;
The hunger preys,
The famine slays,
And awful horror veils our ways!”

Beneath the pall of prison wall
The rush of hoofs they seem to hear;
From loathsome guise they lift their eyes,
And beat their bars and bend their ear.

“Ah, God be thanked! our friends are nigh;
He wills it not that thus we die;
O fiends accurst
Of Want and Thirst,
Our comrades gather,—do your worst!”

A sharp affright runs through the night,
An ambush stirred, a column reined;
The hurrying steed has checked his speed,
His smoking flanks are crimson stained.

O noble son of noble sire,
Thine ears are deaf to our desire!
O knightly grace
Of valiant race,
Thy grave is honor's trysting-place!

O life so pure! O faith so sure!
O heart so brave, and true, and strong!
With tips of flame is writ your name,
In annaled deed and storied song!

It flares across the solemn night,
It glitters in the radiant light;
A jewel set,
Unnumbered yet,
In our Republic's coronet!