Then off there flung in smiling joy, By just his horse's mane, a boy : You looked twice ere you saw his breast "Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace The marshal's in the market-place, And you'll be there anon 1 3 To see your flag-bird 2 flap his vans 3 Where I, to heart's desire, Perched him!" The chief's eye flashed; his plans The chief's eye flashed; but presently Softened itself, as sheathes A film the mother eagle's eye When her bruised eaglet breathes; "You're wounded!" 66 Nay," his soldier's pride Touched to the quick, he said: "I'm killed, sire!" And, his chief beside, Smiling, the boy fell dead.1 1 Anon: presently. 2 Flag-bird: the eagle on the French flag. ROBERT BROWNING. 3 Vans: wings. 4 Fell dead: a similar incident occurred at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. An officer of the Sixth Wisconsin approached Lieutenant-Colonel Dawes, the commander of the regiment, after the sharp fight in the railroad cut. The colonel supposed, from the firm and erect attitude of the man, that he came to report for orders of some kind; but the compressed lips told a different story. With a great effort the officer said, 'Tell them at home I died like a man and a soldier.' He threw open his coat, displayed a ghastly wound, and dropped dead at the colonel's feet.- Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, by Major-General Doubleday. YE MARINERS OF ENGLAND. YE mariners of England, That guard our native seas, Whose flag has braved, a thousand years, Your glorious standard launch again, And sweep through the deep While the stormy winds do blow The spirits of your fathers Shall start from every wave! For the deck it was their field of fame, And ocean was their grave. Where Blake 1 and mighty Nelson 2 fell Your manly hearts shall glow, "He is con 1 Blake: a distinguished English admiral (1599–1657). sidered as the founder of the naval supremacy of England." His great battles were with the Dutch and the Spanish. 2 Nelson: Southey calls Lord Nelson (1758-1805) "the greatest naval hero of our own and of all former times." He won the battle of the Nile over Napoleon, battle of the Baltic, and the great and decisive battle of Trafalgar, which destroyed Napoleon's combined French and Spanish fleets and made "England mistress of the seas." In this last engagement (1805) Nelson was mortally wounded. While the stormy winds do blow — Britannia 1 needs no bulwarks, With thunders from her native oak 2 When the stormy winds do blow The meteor flag of England Till danger's troubled night depart, And the star of peace return. Then, then, ye ocean-warriors! Our song and feast shall flow To the fame of your name, When the storm has ceased to blow And the storm has ceased to blow. THOMAS CAMPBELL, 1 Britannia: the Roman or Latin name of Britain. 2 Oak: formerly all men-of-war were built of oak. 3 Meteor: so called from its bright, fiery red. Milton uses the same expression, "The imperial ensign . . . shone like a meteor." ... BATTLE OF THE BALTIC.1 OF Nelson 2 and the north Sing the glorious day's renown, All the might of Denmark's crown, And her arms along the deep proudly shone; In a bold, determined hand, And the prince of all the land Led them on. Like leviathans 3 afloat Lay their bulwarks on the brine; It was ten of April morn by the chime. And the boldest held his breath For a time. 1 Battle of the Baltic: during the wars with Napoleon, England claimed the right to search all neutral vessels, the object being to prevent trade with France. In 1800 Russia, Denmark, and Sweden entered into a treaty or coalition known as the "Second Armed Neutrality" to resist England's claim. In 1801 the "Battle of the Baltic" was fought, in which Nelson bombarded Copenhagen, destroyed a great part of the Danish fleet, and gained such a victory that, with the death of the Czar, which shortly after followed, the coalition was broken up. 2 Nelson: see note 2, p. 179. 3 Leviathans: sea-monsters. But the might of England flushed To anticipate the scene; And her van the fleeter rushed O'er the deadly space between. "Hearts of oak!" our captain cried; when each gun 1 From its adamantine 1 lips Spread a death-shade round the ships, Like the hurricane eclipse Of the sun. Again! again! again! And the havoc did not slack, Till a feeble cheer the Dane To our cheering sent us back; As they strike the shattered sail, Light the gloom. Out spoke the victor then, As he hailed them o'er the wave: "Ye are brothers! ye are men! And we conquer but to save ; So peace instead of death let us bring; And make submission meet |