For thee her poet's lyre 1 is wreathed, The memory of her buried joys, — Talk of thy doom without a sigh ; That were not born to die. 1 Lyre: a kind of harp. FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. 2 Pilgrim-circled hearth: the hearth of the widow of Bozzaris, round which travellers from foreign lands gathered to hear his story and that of Greek Independence. THE NATION'S DEAD. FOUR hundred thousand men, Four hundred thousand of the brave Good friend, for me and you. In many a fevered swamp, In many a cold and frozen camp, From western plain to ocean tide Are stretched the graves of those who died For me and you, Good friend, for me and you. On many a bloody plain Their ready swords they drew, And poured their life-blood like the rain, A home, a heritage, to gain, To gain for me and you. 1 Bayou (bi-oo'): the narrow outlet of a lake or a channel of water or creek in the valley of the lower Mississippi. Our brothers mustered by our side, They marched, and fought, and bravely died For me and you, Good friend, for me and you. Up many a fortress wall They charged, those boys in blue; 'Mid surging smoke and volleyed ball, The bravest were the first to fall, Those noble men, the nation's pride, Good friend, for me and you. In treason's prison-hold Their martyr spirits grew To stature like the saints of old, They starved for me and you. Good friend, for me and you. A debt we ne'er can pay To them is justly due; And to the nation's latest day Four hundred thousand of the brave Made this, our ransomed soil, their grave, Good friend, for me and you. ANONYMOUS. SONG OF THE CORNISH MEN.1 A GOOD Sword and a trusty hand! King James's 2 men shall understand And have they fixed the where and when? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Outspake their captain, brave and bold, A merry wight 3 was he: "If London Tower were Michael's hold,4 1 In 1688, King James II. of England ordered the clergy throughout the realm to read a royal proclamation which suspended all penal laws against Protestant Dissenters and Roman Catholics. The Archbishop of Canterbury and six bishops of the English Church, believing that the king's real object was to favor the Catholic party, petitioned His Majesty to be excused from reading the proclamation. He refused to consider their petition; and as the proclamation was read by only a very few of the clergy, he sent the bishops prisoners to the Tower of London. One of them was Trelawny, a native of Cornwall. The rough Cornish miners demanded his release, and from one end of Cornwall to the other people were heard singing this song. The pressure brought to bear on the king and his servile bench of judges was so great that on their trial the bishops were all acquitted. Soon after, James fled the country, and William and Mary came to the throne. 2 King James: James II. 3 Wight person. 4 Michael's hold: St. Michael's castle and stronghold on the coast of Cornwall. 1 "We'll cross the Tamar 1 land to land, With one and all, and hand-in-hand, "And when we come to London wall,— Come forth! come forth, ye cowards all, 66 Trelawny he's in keep and hold,2 But here's twenty thousand Cornish bold Will know the reason why!" ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER, 1 Tamar and Severn: rivers of the south of England. The Severn, however, would not be crossed by the Cornish men on their march to London; perhaps the Avon is meant. 2 Keep and hold: dungeon and fortress or stronghold. |