NEW ENGLAND'S DEAD. "I shall enter on no encomium upon Massachusetts; she needs none. There she is; behold her, and judge for yourselves. There is her history. The world knows it by heart. The past, at least, is secure. There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill; and there they will remain forever The bones of her sons, falling in the great struggle for independence, now lie mingled with the soil of every State, from New England to Georgia; and there they will remain forever."-WEBSTER'S Speech. EW England's dead! New England's dead! ΝΕ On every hill they lie; On every field of strife, made red By bloody victory. Each valley, where the battle poured Its red and awful tide, Beheld the brave New England sword Their bones are on the Northern hill, The land is holy where they fought, And holy where they fell; For by their blood that land was bought, Oh, few and weak their numbers were A handful of brave men; But to their God they gave their prayer, And rushed to battle then. The God of battles heard their cry, And sent to them the victory. They left the ploughshare in the mould, To right those wrongs, come weal, come woe, And where are ye, O fearless men? I call: the hills reply again That ye have passed away; That on old Bunker's lonely height, In Trenton, and in Monmouth ground, The grass grows green, the harvest bright, Above each soldier's mound. The bugle's wild and warlike blast The starry flag, 'neath which they fought From their old graves shall rouse them not, THE OLD CLOCK ON THE STAIRS. OMEWHAT back from the village street SOME Stands the old-fashioned country-seat; Across its antique portico Tall poplar-trees their shadows throw; An ancient timepiece says to all, "Forever- never! Never forever!" Halfway up the stairs it stands, From its case of massive oak, Like a monk, who, under his cloak, Crosses himself, and sighs, alas! With sorrowful voice to all who pass, "Forever-never! Never-forever!" By day its voice is low and light; Through days of sorrow and of mirth, Of changeful time, unchanged it has stood, Never forever!" In that mansion used to be His great fires up the chimney roared; But like the skeleton at the feast, That warning timepiece never ceased"Forever never! There groups of merry children played, Even as a miser counts his gold, Never forever!" From that chamber, clothed in white, There, in that silent room below, The dead lay in his shroud of snow; And in the hush that followed the prayer, "Forever-never! Never-forever!" All are scattered now and fled, Some are married, some are dead; And when I ask, with throbs of pain, "Ah! when shall they all meet again?" As in the days long since gone by, The ancient timepiece makes reply, "Forever-never! STA She is not mad who kneels to thee; I am not mad; I am not mad. My tyrant husband forged the tale Oh! haste my father's heart to cheer: He smiles in scorn, and turns the key; 'Tis sure some dream, some vision vain; Which never more my heart must glad, Hast thou, my child, forgot, ere this, Nor round her neck how fast you clung; Nor how that suit your sire forbade; Nor how I'll drive such thoughts away; They'll make me mad; they'll make me mad. His rosy lips, how sweet they smiled! His mild, blue eyes, how bright they shone! And art thou now forever gone? |